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Monroe County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Monroe County is 231.6 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 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 106 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (54), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (37), Gas station (mapped facility) (6). 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: 36.7283, -85.719.

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 Monroe County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	60.2	30.2	1.99xSignificant	43.9 to 81.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	231.6	143.2	1.62xSignificant	198.3 to 269.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	83.7	51.8	1.62xSignificant	64.9 to 107	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	26.1	17.9	1.46x	14.4 to 43.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	541.7	453.4	1.19xSignificant	487.9 to 600.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	26	23.8	1.09x	14.4 to 43.1	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 Monroe County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,281.4	9,842.6	+15%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.2	75.3	-4%	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	95.4	96.9	-2%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde19.9 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.19 per million
Benzene0.77 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge54
NPDES wastewater discharge permit37
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

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

Graham Pallet Company, Tompkinsville
Major air pollution source. Penalties $30,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031500258 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Graham Pallet Company, Tompkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $30,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031500258 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Gamaliel Stp, Gamaliel
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006656010 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tompkinsville Stp, Tompkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009939530 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Roy Anderson Lumber Co, Tompkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006810585 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Tompkinsville, Summer Shade
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003227730 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Monroe Co State Maintenance Garage, Tompkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006759285 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Tompkinsville Used Cars & Auto Salvage, Tompkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056405251 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Tompkinsville Stp, Tompkinsville
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KY0020702: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Anderson Forest Products, Tompkinsville
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR003559: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
State Line Lumber, Hestand
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071276922 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Tompkinsville, Summer Shade
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003227730 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Nc Redi Mix, Tompkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070693438 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Monroe Co Water District Wtp, Tompkinsville
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0112381: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
State Line Lumber, Hestand
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004504: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Gamaliel Stp, Gamaliel
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0095257: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Tompkinsville Wtp, Tompkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006682786 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Tompkinsville/Monroe County, Tompkinsville
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID TZV (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Graham Pallet A Millwood Inc, Tompkinsville
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004449: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2
Texas Eastern Transmission Lp - Tompkinsville Compressor Station, Summer Shade
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006749206 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Monroe Co Water District Wtp, Tompkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070255306 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Glass Aggregates Llc - Monroe County Stone, Tompkinsville
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYG840112: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.6
Jh Carter Elementary School, Tompkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006751238 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Anderson Forest Products, Tompkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007063015 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Scottys Contracting & Stone Llc - Allen Co Asphalt Plant - Portable, Tompkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007288238 (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 Monroe 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 Monroe 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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