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Nelson County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Nelson County is 192.3 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 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 445 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (158), Industrial wastewater discharge (155), Rail grade crossing (57). 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: 37.7569, -85.5296.

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 Nelson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	45.6	23.8	1.92xSignificant	37.6 to 54.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	33.1	17.9	1.85xSignificant	26.4 to 41	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	6.2	3.7	1.68x	3.7 to 9.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	85.1	51.8	1.64xSignificant	75 to 96.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	22.4	14.5	1.54xSignificant	17 to 28.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	44.6	30.2	1.48xSignificant	37.4 to 52.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	8.2	5.7	1.44x	5.2 to 12.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.7	4.8	1.4x	4.1 to 10.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	192.3	143.2	1.34xSignificant	176.5 to 209.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.5	8.7	1.32x	7.9 to 16.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.5	6.6	1.29x	5.4 to 12.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.9	4.6	1.28x	3.5 to 9.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	574.1	453.4	1.27xSignificant	545.9 to 603.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	17.3	13.9	1.24x	12.7 to 23.2	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.7	6.2	1.24x	4.7 to 12	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.5	11.3	1.19x	9.6 to 18.6	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	7.5	6.6	1.14x	4.7 to 11.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21	18.5	1.14x	15.8 to 27.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.2	18.7	1.03x	14.2 to 25.3	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.2	13	0.86x	7.2 to 16.6	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 Nelson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,516.4	9,842.6	+7%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.2	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	33.9	59.8	-43%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.2	6.2	-16%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	106	96.9	+9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	46.8	28.6	+64%	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.

Formaldehyde19.67 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.35 per million
Chromium Vi Hexavalent1.12 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit158
Industrial wastewater discharge155
Rail grade crossing57
Gas station (mapped facility)21
Air permit holder (minor source)10
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)8
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)8
TRI reporting facility6
Major air pollution source4
Large hazardous waste generator4
Small hazardous waste generator4
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Scrapyard (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.

Jim Beam Brands Co, Boston
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003235188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.1
Tower Automotive, Bardstown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 857 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40004TWRTM850WI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Jim Beam Brands Co. -Booker Noe Plant, Boston
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Lead compounds. 50,350 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40107JMBMBHWY61 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Npr Of America Corp, Bardstown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 293 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4000WNPRFM68WIL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Tower Automotive, Bardstown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Chromium, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 227 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40004WDRDG900NU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Toyota Boshoku Kentucky L.L.C. - Bardstown, Bardstown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Cyclohexane, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene. 6,025 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40004TRMMS1051W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Toyota Boshoku Kentucky Llc - Bardstown, Bardstown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000377798 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Jim Beam Brands Co, Boston
Major air pollution source. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003235188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Jerry L Riley Stp, Bardstown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009933402 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
American Fuji Seal, Bardstown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers. 1,981 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40004WNSLL1051B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Jim Beam Brands Co, Boston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003235188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Inoac Packaging Group, Bardstown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylbenzene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Methyl isobutyl ketone. Reports carcinogens. 8 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40004NCNDL901NU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Jim Beam Brands Co, Boston
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003235188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Npr Of America Corporation, Bardstown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070207823 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Barton Distillery, Bardstown
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012315100 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fet Engineering Inc, Bardstown
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000881813 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bloomfield Wwtp, Bloomfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059791060 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Intertec Systems, Bardstown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000377805 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
R J Tower Corporation, Bardstown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006655146 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
New Haven Stp, New Haven
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009051630 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Barton Distillery, Bardstown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012315100 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Reladyne, Bardstown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069994357 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Toyota Boshoku Kentucky Llc - Bardstown, Bardstown
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000377798 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Polyair, Bardstown
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000535993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
American Fuji Seal, Bardstown
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000883615 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

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 Nelson 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 Nelson 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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