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Owen County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Owen County is 165.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 57 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (22), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (21), 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: 38.5314, -84.846.

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 Owen County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	33.3	17.9	1.86xSignificant	21.2 to 50.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	52.5	30.2	1.74xSignificant	37.8 to 71.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	84.7	51.8	1.64xSignificant	65.9 to 108	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	29.4	18.5	1.59x	17.8 to 46.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	22.9	18.7	1.22x	13.4 to 37.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	165.7	143.2	1.16x	138.7 to 197.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	521	453.4	1.15xSignificant	470.1 to 576.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25.6	23.8	1.08x	15.1 to 41.3	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 Owen County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,546.4	9,842.6	+27%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.6	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	146.3	96.9	+51%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	50.6	28.6	+77%	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.

Formaldehyde19.21 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.04 per million
Benzene0.86 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge22
NPDES wastewater discharge permit21
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Public airport2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1

Highest-severity records

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

Owenton Cleaners, Owenton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003229872 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Perry Park Resort, Perry Park
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006749965 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Kentucky American Water Co - Northern Stp, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009938737 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/478512417 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/478512418 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/478512419 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Perry Park Resort, Perry Park
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0087661: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.9
Actaris Us Gas Incorporated, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000591057 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Foreign Auto Salvage Inc, Sweet Owen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009953817 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ktc Owen County Maintenance Garage, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009960186 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Owen Electric Coop Inc Hq, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012753430 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kentucky American Water -Kentucky River Station 2, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030770306 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Owen Co State Maintenance Garage, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045049210 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Clifford & Cathy Harris Residence, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045053240 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Matt Fischer Residence, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070160296 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gordon Mcneill Residence, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070674652 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kami Kattelus Residence, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071073223 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kami Kattelus Residence, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071074689 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dollar General, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071096656 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Owen County Schools New Transportation Building, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071144686 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Michael & Anjanette Rains Residence, City Of Corinth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071345678 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Owenton-Crittenden Road (Ky 22), Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071428256 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Owen County Schools - Upgrades And Athletics, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071943781 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bobby Mcclain Residence, Gratz
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072200389 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pinegrove Mhp Sanitary Sewer Extension, Owenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072248438 (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 Owen 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 Owen 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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