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Pendleton County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Pendleton County is 207.1 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 2.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 181 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (71), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (48), Rail grade crossing (34). 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: 38.7208, -84.3696.

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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 Pendleton County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	120.5	51.8	2.33xSignificant	99.2 to 145.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	66	30.2	2.19xSignificant	50.3 to 85.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	34.7	23.8	1.46x	23.2 to 50.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	207.1	143.2	1.45xSignificant	177.5 to 240.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.4	17.9	1.31x	14.5 to 36.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	24.4	18.7	1.3x	15.2 to 37.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	538	453.4	1.19xSignificant	490.2 to 589.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.5	18.5	0.95x	9.6 to 29.6	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 Pendleton County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,014.6	9,842.6	+32%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.1	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	95.6	59.8	+60%	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	123.3	96.9	+27%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	57	28.6	+99%	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.

Formaldehyde19.14 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.07 per million
Benzene0.96 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge71
NPDES wastewater discharge permit48
Rail grade crossing34
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Major air pollution source4
Gas station (mapped facility)4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Public airport1
Brownfield property1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Biomass power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
Wastewater plant (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.

Carmeuse Lime & Stone Black River Facility, Butler
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Lead compounds, Mercury And Mercury Compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 410,036 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41006DRVLMRTE1B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Carmeuse Lime Inc, Butler
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379554 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.2
Darling Ingredients Inc., Butler
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen sulfide, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Methanol. 301,475 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41006GRFFN1176B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Darling Ingredients Inc., Butler
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022811046 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Butler Stp, Butler
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009939424 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Carmeuse Lime Inc, Butler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379554 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Darling Ingredients Inc., Butler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022811046 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bluegrass Biodiesel Llc, Falmouth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032667825 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Carmeuse Lime Inc, Butler
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379554 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Falmouth Stp (New), Falmouth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110023140420 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
East Pendleton Water District, Falmouth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006750667 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Darling Ingredients Inc., Butler
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022811046 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Carmeuse Lime Inc, Butler
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379554 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
East Ky Power Coop - Pendleton Co Landfill, Butler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028257874 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Rumpke Pendleton County Landfill, Butler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043784009 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Darling Ingredients Inc., Butler
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022811046 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Vege Manufacturing, Falmouth
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003220791 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Falmouth Stp (New), Falmouth
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0106267: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Pendleton Co State Maintenance Garage, Falmouth
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004733: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Hammer Strength, Falmouth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043235521 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Pendleton County Lfgte, Butler
Biomass power plant.
Record ID 56327 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 2.5
Mount Auburn Apts, Mount Auburn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008991653 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Grand Oak Estates, Butler
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009934072 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Rumpke Pendleton County Landfill, Butler
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043784009 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Jay Gee Manufacturing 2, Butler
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070602706 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5

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 Pendleton 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 Pendleton 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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