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Simpson County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Simpson County is 197.7 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 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 263 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (99), Industrial wastewater discharge (81), Gas station (mapped facility) (21). 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: 36.766, -86.5707.

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 Simpson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	48.5	30.2	1.61xSignificant	37 to 62.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	27.7	17.9	1.55xSignificant	19 to 39.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	79.4	51.8	1.53xSignificant	64.8 to 96.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	35.9	23.8	1.51xSignificant	25.6 to 49.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	26.7	18.7	1.43x	18.1 to 38.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	197.7	143.2	1.38xSignificant	172.6 to 225.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	13.4	11.3	1.19x	7.7 to 22	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	502.2	453.4	1.11xSignificant	461.9 to 545.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.8	14.5	1.09x	9.2 to 25.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.8	18.5	0.75x	8 to 22.5	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 Simpson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,054.8	9,842.6	+12%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	61	59.8	+2%	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	89.1	96.9	-8%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	29.2	28.6	+2%	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.

Formaldehyde21.86 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde2.31 per million
Benzene1.01 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 243 days: 227 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 39, peak 74.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit99
Industrial wastewater discharge81
Gas station (mapped facility)21
Rail grade crossing16
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)10
TRI reporting facility8
Air permit holder (minor source)6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
Small hazardous waste generator4
Major air pollution source3
Public airport3
Large hazardous waste generator3
EPA air quality monitor1
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
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.

Fritz Winter North America Lp, Franklin
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $95,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070133311 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.8
Covalence Adhesives, Franklin
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380436 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.7
Toyo Automotive Parts (Usa) Inc, Franklin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Methyl isobutyl ketone, Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene. Reports carcinogens. 40,127 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42134TYTMT521PA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Matalco Kentucky Llc, Franklin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, Lead, Chromium and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 15,325 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42134BRWNPBRODE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Fritz Winter North America Lp, Franklin
Major air pollution source. Penalties $95,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070133311 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Gpm Manufacturing Inc, Franklin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 3,074 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42134HRMNB3100B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Fritz Winter North America Lp, Franklin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $95,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070133311 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Meritor Heavy Braking Systems Llc, Franklin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Lead, Copper, Chromium and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,578 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42135MRTRH115OG (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Covalence Adhesives, Franklin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, n-Hexane, Zinc compounds, Antimony compounds and 4 more. 103,267 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42134THKNDUS31W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Fritz Winter, Franklin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Copper, Lead and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 266 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4213WFRTZW1FRIT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Covalence Adhesives, Franklin
Major air pollution source. Penalties $9,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380436 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Harman International, Franklin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044971901 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Motor Wheel Llc, Franklin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008359025 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Qg Printing Ii Corp, Franklin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017423046 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Franklin Precision Industry, Franklin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 49 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42135FRNKL322BW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Covalence Adhesives, Franklin
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $9,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380436 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Covalence Adhesives, Franklin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380436 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Dana Films, Franklin
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $29,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041959681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Franklin Precision Industry, Franklin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009054012 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Franklin Wastewater Treatment Plant, Franklin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008973192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Keystone Foods Llc, Franklin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002347719 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Carrier Franklin, Franklin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071267887 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Al Johnson Distributors Llc, Franklin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006647129 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Dana Films, Franklin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $29,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041959681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gpm Manufacturing Llc, Franklin
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071285025 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

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 Simpson 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 Simpson 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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