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Nicholas County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Nicholas County is 175.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 62 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (31), Industrial wastewater discharge (15), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (15). 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: 38.3277, -83.997.

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 Nicholas 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	43.4	23.8	1.82xSignificant	25.8 to 68.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66.4	51.8	1.28x	46.1 to 93.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	175.6	143.2	1.23x	139.6 to 218.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	474.7	453.4	1.05x	413 to 543.4	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 Nicholas County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,024	9,842.6	+12%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.7	75.3	-3%	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	126.4	96.9	+30%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	52.7	28.6	+84%	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.

Formaldehyde17.54 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.93 per million
Benzene0.91 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing31
Industrial wastewater discharge15
NPDES wastewater discharge permit15
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.

Carlisle Stp, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009939371 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Kytc Nicholas County Maintenance Facility, Carlisle
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004619: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Carlisle Stp, Carlisle
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0020923: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Nicholas Co Road Dept, Carlisle
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004602: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Western Fleming Wtp, Ewing
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0110213: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Carlisle Wtp, Carlisle
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYG640040: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2
Carlisle Wtp, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006682768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Western Fleming Wtp, Ewing
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064640303 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
North Central 4h Camp, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006750578 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Green Acres Mhp, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009056298 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ktc Nicholas County Maintenance Garage, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009744009 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nicholas County Road Department, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022854179 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nicholas County High School Athletic - Track & Pressbox, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036742497 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kytc Nicholas County Maintenance Facility, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070938387 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Harrison Harvesting, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071376283 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nicholas Co Road Dept, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071546487 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kytc Nicholas County Maintenance Facility, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071645877 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dollar General, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071781277 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dollar General, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071784431 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bourbon Co. / Nicholas Co. Regional Industrial Park Mass Grading Project, Carlisle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072177776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Moorefield Rd, Carlisle
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 353940N (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Carpenter Rd, Millersburg
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 353911D (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1
Lower Jackstown Rd, Carlisle
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 353923X (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1
E Union Rd, Carlisle
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 353932W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1
Dorsey Ave, Carlisle
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 353938M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1

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 Nicholas 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 Nicholas 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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