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Russell County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Russell County is 212.2 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 2.1 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 187 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (76), Industrial wastewater discharge (70), Gas station (mapped facility) (13). 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: 37.0028, -85.0247.

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 Russell County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	64.1	30.2	2.12xSignificant	51.4 to 79.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	91.8	51.8	1.77xSignificant	76.3 to 110	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	212.2	143.2	1.48xSignificant	187.3 to 239.9	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	23.7	18.7	1.27x	16.1 to 34.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	534.8	453.4	1.18xSignificant	493.6 to 578.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.1	14.5	1.18x	10.7 to 26.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25.8	23.8	1.08x	17.8 to 36.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19	17.9	1.06x	12.3 to 28.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.3	18.5	0.88x	9.5 to 26.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.9	13.9	0.86x	6.9 to 19.9	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 Russell County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,997.2	9,842.6	+32%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.1	75.3	-4%	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	108.8	96.9	+12%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	22.1	28.6	-23%	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.

Formaldehyde18.74 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.13 per million
Benzene0.87 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit76
Industrial wastewater discharge70
Gas station (mapped facility)13
Small hazardous waste generator6
Brownfield property4
Heliport4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hydroelectric plant1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Superior Battery Manufacturing Co Inc, Russell Springs
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056972343 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Superior Battery Manufacturing Co Inc., Russell Springs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Antimony. 351 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42642SPRRBHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5
Russell County Regional Stp, Jamestown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000719045 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Superior Battery Manufacturing Co Inc, Russell Springs
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056972343 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Union Underwear Co Inc - Fruit Of The Loom, Jamestown
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002454193 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Superior Battery Manufacturing Co Inc, Russell Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056972343 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Stephens Pipe & Steel Llc, Russell Springs
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057072670 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Union Underwear - Fruit Of The Loom, Jamestown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064289942 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hudson Property, Russell Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965261 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Ballmont Motel, Jamestown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972187 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Jamestown Court Motel, Jamestown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071979160 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Russell Co State Maintenance Garage #556, Russell Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071540229 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Russell County Regional Stp, Jamestown
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0062995: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Russell Co State Maintenance Garage #556, Russell Springs
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004592: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Union Underwear Co Inc - Fruit Of The Loom, Jamestown
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002454193 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Pine Crest Park, Indian Hills
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006752282 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Davis Gate + Wire Manufacturing, Inc., Russell Springs
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071453122 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Davis Gate & Wire Manufacturing, Inc., Jamestown
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072209195 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Apple Valley Resort Twnhs Assn, Jamestown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006751372 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Russell Springs, City Of, Russell Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009957555 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Jamestown Municipal Water Works, Jamestown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064602443 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Russell County, Jamestown
Public airport. O.
Record ID K24 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/907808222 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Superior Battery Manufacturing Co, Russell Springs
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004510: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.9
Union Underwear Co Inc - Fruit Of The Loom, Jamestown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002454193 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

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 Russell 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 Russell 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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