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Laurel County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Laurel County is 203.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 2.2 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 334 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (129), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (109), Gas station (mapped facility) (37). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 30 in a million, driven mainly by formaldehyde.

Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000 people. A cancer signal is marked significant when the lower bound of its 95 percent confidence interval is above the U.S. rate. Facility counts use active federal records located inside the county boundary. Approximate county center: 37.1378, -84.115.

How this county ranks in Kentucky

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Cancer deaths and new cases versus the United States

Source: NCI and CDC State Cancer Profiles, both sexes, all ages. Sorted by the ratio of the county rate to the U.S. rate.

Cancer rates for Laurel County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	7.5	3.4	2.21xSignificant	5.1 to 10.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	59.3	30.2	1.96xSignificant	52 to 67.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	91.8	51.8	1.77xSignificant	82.7 to 101.8	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	6.3	3.7	1.7xSignificant	4.1 to 9.2	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	19.3	13	1.48xSignificant	14.8 to 24.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	8.2	5.7	1.44x	5.5 to 11.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	203.7	143.2	1.42xSignificant	189.5 to 218.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25.1	17.9	1.4xSignificant	20.2 to 31	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	6.2	4.6	1.35x	4 to 9.2	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.5	4.4	1.25x	3.3 to 8.6	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.8	14.5	1.23x	13.7 to 22.7	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	8.1	6.6	1.23x	5.5 to 11.6	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.8	4.1	1.17x	2.9 to 7.7	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.2	6.2	1.16x	4.6 to 10.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	518.4	453.4	1.14xSignificant	495.7 to 542	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	26.3	23.8	1.11x	21.2 to 32.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.3	4.8	1.1x	3.1 to 8.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11.9	11.3	1.05x	8.7 to 15.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.7	18.5	1.01x	14.5 to 23.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.5	13.9	0.97x	10.1 to 17.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.5	6.6	0.83x	3.3 to 8.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.2	8.7	0.83x	4.7 to 10.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.2	18.7	0.81x	11.6 to 19.5	2019-2023

Mortality measures versus the U.S. county median

Source: County Health Rankings, built from CDC National Vital Statistics System death records. The comparison value is the median of all U.S. counties.

Mortality measures for Laurel County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,684	9,842.6	+19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.5	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	50.2	59.8	-16%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.5	6.2	+4%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	96.4	96.9	-1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	34.8	28.6	+22%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 30 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde19.94 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde2.12 per million
Naphthalene1.24 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

334 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Industrial wastewater discharge129
NPDES wastewater discharge permit109
Gas station (mapped facility)37
Rail grade crossing18
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Small hazardous waste generator6
Major air pollution source4
Air permit holder (minor source)4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Brownfield property3
TRI reporting facility3
Hazardous waste transporter2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Biomass power plant1
Hydroelectric plant1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Accent Marble Inc., London
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 3,625 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40741CCNTM2CKIE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Regen - Laurel Ridge Landfill, Lily
Major air pollution source. Penalties $15,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013922229 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Aisin Automotive Casting Llc, London
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 66 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40744SNTMT4870E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Regen - Laurel Ridge Landfill, Lily
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $15,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013922229 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Accent Marble Inc., London
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037144765 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
London Wastewater Treatment Plant, London
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000557013 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Robinson Stave Company, East Bernstadt
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039599477 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Waste Water Treatment, Corbin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000914903 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
World Fuel Services London Bulk Plant, London
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Cyclohexane, Ethylbenzene, Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 4074WWRLDF5FARI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Aisin Automotive Casting Inc., London
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000591137 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Robinson Stave Company, East Bernstadt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039599477 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Kamco Llc, Fariston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045054025 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Borden Dairy, London
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379527 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Bimbo Bakeries Usa Inc, London
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008362459 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Tri Co Ready Mix - London Division, London
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024400799 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Abc Automotive Systems Inc, London
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045139088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Vrng Laurel Ridge Llc, Lily
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071540309 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
London Truck Parts, London
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070561762 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Belle Bennett Auditorium, London
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974060 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Minerva Mcdaniel Library, London
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974061 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sanders Student Center, London
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974062 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bimbo Bakeries Usa Inc, London
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008362459 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Vrng Laurel Ridge Llc, Lily
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071540309 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
New Dairy Kentucky Llc, London
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Sodium nitrite, Nitric acid.
TRI facility ID 40741FLVRCJCTI7 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Wood Creek Water District, London
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $11,250.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009744027 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Laurel County

Kentucky state cancer registry
Cancer incidence counts by census tract or ZIP code, by cancer type and year (de-identified). Any cancer cluster inquiries or investigations in Laurel County, and their findings.
Kentucky vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Kentucky health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Kentucky environmental agency and the U.S. EPA regional office
Compliance history, inspection reports, notices of violation, penalties and enforcement actions for each facility above, cited by EPA FRS registry ID.
Kentucky drinking water program
Violation notices, sampling results and sanitary surveys for the public water systems serving the county, including any system serving a correctional facility.
Department of corrections or county sheriff
Water testing, grievances and environmental health inspections for the correctional facilities listed above.

Each Envyrofax address report includes a printable records request worksheet with the custodian and the exact request wording per finding.

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