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McCreary County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in McCreary County is 232.9 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 2.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 116 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (37), Industrial wastewater discharge (32), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (27). 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: 36.7776, -84.4905.

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 McCreary County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	82.1	30.2	2.72xSignificant	65.4 to 102.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	134.5	51.8	2.6xSignificant	113.3 to 158.9	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	23.2	13	1.78xSignificant	14.2 to 35.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	232.9	143.2	1.63xSignificant	204.3 to 264.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	545	453.4	1.2xSignificant	500.3 to 592.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.5	18.5	1.16x	13.4 to 33.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.4	18.7	0.98x	11.2 to 29	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14.8	17.9	0.83x	8.4 to 24.7	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 McCreary County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,729.7	9,842.6	+50%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	69.6	75.3	-8%	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	95	96.9	-2%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	35.5	28.6	+24%	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.

Formaldehyde18.33 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde1.94 per million
Benzene0.79 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing37
Industrial wastewater discharge32
NPDES wastewater discharge permit27
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Brownfield property4
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
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.

Mccreary Us Penitentary, Pine Knot
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 4,703 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4263WMCCRR33FED (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Mccreary Us Penitentary, Pine Knot
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043694277 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Big South Fork Railroad, Stearns
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056404671 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Cumberland Manor Rest Home I Llc, Parkers Lake
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009051998 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Revelation Energy Llc (874-8008 & 874-9008), Greenwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067434011 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Mccreary County Jail, Whitley City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976287 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Stearns Company Store, Stearns
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983966 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Big South Fork Scenic Railway, Stearns
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071987100 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Stearns Railyard, Stearns
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071987101 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Mccreary County Hardwoods Inc, Pine Knot
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR003310: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Cardinal Reclemation Co Llc, Wiborg
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0112101: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Mccreary Co State Maintenance Garage, Whitley City
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KYR004777: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Cumberland Falls Llc, Parkers Lake
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069423859 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Mccreary County Water District 2, Whitley City
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYG640157: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Mccreary County Stp, Stearns
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009010391 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Mccreary Co State Maintenance Garage, Whitley City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071849324 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Mc Creary County, Pine Knot
Public airport. O.
Record ID 18I (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1253779635 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Mccreay Co Water Dist #2, Whitley City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009959054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Mccreary County Wtp - Plant A, Stearns
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064592025 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Ktc Mccreary County Maintenance Garage, Whitley City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006759409 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mccreary County Hardwoods Inc, Pine Knot
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009956093 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Domermuth Environmental Services, Stearns
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017859147 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pine Knot Lumber Inc, Pine Knot
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059706518 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Southfork Coal Co - Justus Prep Plant [874-8004 & 874-5005], Revelo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069592088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 McCreary 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 McCreary 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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