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Martin County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Martin County is 199.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 2.1 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 571 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (478), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (52), Rail grade crossing (21). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 37.8154, -82.5262.

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 Martin County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	63.2	30.2	2.09xSignificant	46.4 to 84.8	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	27.2	13	2.09xSignificant	15.6 to 44.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	97.2	51.8	1.88xSignificant	75.8 to 123.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	29.6	18.5	1.6x	17.7 to 47	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	199.2	143.2	1.39xSignificant	167.4 to 235.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	464.9	453.4	1.03x	415 to 519.5	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 Martin County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,340.5	9,842.6	+46%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.6	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	n/a	6.2	n/a	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	121.9	96.9	+26%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	72.1	28.6	+152%	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.

Formaldehyde18.43 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde1.94 per million
Benzene1.16 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge478
NPDES wastewater discharge permit52
Rail grade crossing21
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Brownfield property3
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Heliport1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)1
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.

Federal Bureau Of Prisons Usp Big Sandy, Inez
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 5,453 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41224FDRLB1197A (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Inez Stp, Inez
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009936864 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Us Penitentiary Big Sandy, Inez
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015714191 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Czar Coal Corp [Consolidated], Debord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $179,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067631307 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Lexington Coal Co Llc [880-5202], Pilgrim
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067015875 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Lexington Coal Co Llc [Consolidated], Pilgrim
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067435136 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Lexington Coal Co Llc [880-8025], Pilgrim
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067580745 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Lexington Coal Co Llc [Consolidated], Mcclure
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070940499 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Lexington Coal Co Llc [Consolidated], Threeforks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071177555 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Czar Coal Corp [880-0194], Debord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045047980 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Columbia Gas Transmission Sta, Inez
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008363760 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Czar Coal Corp, Thomas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $179,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039405630 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
17 W Mining, Lovely
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041046613 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Czar Coal Corp [880-7010], Davella
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $179,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067022331 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Tug Valley Regional Waste Water Treatment Plant, Warfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058923394 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Beech Fork Processing Inc [Consolidated], Debord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071363735 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Historic Martin County Jail, Inez
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071980803 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
West Main Street Property, Inez
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072080221 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
James Webb Property, Tomahawk
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072135739 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Inez Stp, Inez
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KY0079316: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Czar Coal Corp [880-7010], Davella
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYGE40459: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Beech Fork Processing Inc [Consolidated], Debord
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYGE41198: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Lexington Coal Co Llc [Consolidated], Mcclure
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KYGE41142: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Lexington Coal Co Llc [Consolidated], Threeforks
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KYGE41160: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Eden Elementary School, Inez
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027990967 (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.

Us Penitentiary Big Sandy, Inez
EPA FRS registry ID
110015714191
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Martin 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 Martin 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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