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Oldham County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Oldham County is 140.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Bladder deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate and Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,222 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (642), Industrial wastewater discharge (514), Rail grade crossing (32). 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: 38.4082, -85.4762.

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 Oldham County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	New cases	10.7	6.2	1.73xSignificant	7.5 to 14.8	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	6.8	4.1	1.66xSignificant	4.2 to 10.3	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	25.6	16.4	1.56x	14.7 to 41.5	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	6.7	4.4	1.52x	4.4 to 10	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	35.9	23.8	1.51xSignificant	30.1 to 42.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9.7	6.6	1.47xSignificant	6.8 to 13.6	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6.7	4.6	1.46x	4.4 to 9.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	27.1	18.7	1.45xSignificant	21.9 to 33.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.3	17.9	1.36xSignificant	19.7 to 29.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10.6	8.7	1.22x	7.5 to 14.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	534.8	453.4	1.18xSignificant	511.5 to 558.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.1	14.5	1.18x	13.1 to 22	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	16.1	13.9	1.16x	12.2 to 20.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.5	5.7	1.14x	4 to 9.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	4.2	3.7	1.14x	2.3 to 6.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.7	18.5	1.12x	16.2 to 26	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	57.7	51.8	1.11x	50.2 to 66	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	140.9	143.2	0.98x	128.9 to 153.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.3	30.2	0.97x	24.1 to 35.3	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	12.3	13	0.95x	8.9 to 16.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.5	11.3	0.93x	7.5 to 14.4	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	4.9	6.6	0.74x	2.9 to 7.7	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 Oldham County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,388.9	9,842.6	-45%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.7	75.3	+6%	years
Child mortality	26.8	59.8	-55%	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	59.4	96.9	-39%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	16.1	28.6	-44%	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.

Formaldehyde20.6 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.19 per million
Benzene1.13 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 244 days: 214 good, 2 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 39, peak 108.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,222 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit642
Industrial wastewater discharge514
Rail grade crossing32
Gas station (mapped facility)13
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Brownfield property3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Major air pollution source2
EPA air quality monitor1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Gas power plant1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Ky State Reformatory, La Grange
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002108059 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Ky State Reformatory, La Grange
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002108059 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Oldham County Environmental Authority Regional Wwtp, Crestwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $15,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064615590 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Bluegrass Generating Station, La Grange
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 14 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4003WBLGRS395CM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Ohio River Wwtp, Goshen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022905588 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Stainless Steel Midwest, La Grange
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070023998 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Dna Oldham Landlord Llc, La Grange
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006748948 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
La Grange Stp, La Grange
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006752406 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Oldham Woods Subdivision, La Grange
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009057233 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Bluegrass Generation, La Grange
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043808421 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Bluegrass Generating Station, Lagrange
Gas power plant.
Record ID 55164 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.5
Robin Horn Property, La Grange
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978006 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Boat Docktor Inc. Property, Westport
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072135930 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Vacant Crestwood Site, Crestwood
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072135967 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bluegrass Generation, La Grange
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043808421 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Oldham Co State Maintenance Garage, La Grange
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071784131 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Oldham Co State Maintenance Garage, La Grange
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004732: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Rogers Group Inc - Oldham Co Stone, Crestwood [Oldham]
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009744438 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
River Bluffs Wwtp, Prospect
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067648665 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Mockingbird Valley Wwtp, La Grange
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006654441 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Bluegrass Generation, La Grange
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043808421 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Lockwood Estates Subdivision Wwtp, Crestwood
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0054674: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Oldham Woods Subdivision, La Grange
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0078026: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Country Village Stp, Crestwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006750952 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Lakewood Valley Subdivision Wwtp, Crestwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009938381 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3

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 Oldham 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 Oldham 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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