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Union County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Union County is 201.9 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 155 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (87), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (37), Brownfield property (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: 37.6858, -87.9466.

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 Union County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	79.3	51.8	1.53xSignificant	62.3 to 100.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	43.4	30.2	1.44xSignificant	30.9 to 60	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	201.9	143.2	1.41xSignificant	173 to 234.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	18.9	14.5	1.3x	10.5 to 31.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	26.1	23.8	1.1x	16.4 to 40	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	488.8	453.4	1.08x	442.6 to 538.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.1	18.7	1.02x	10.7 to 31.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.7	17.9	0.99x	10.3 to 29.3	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 Union County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,035.1	9,842.6	+2%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.3	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	110.3	96.9	+14%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	29.3	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.

Formaldehyde20.57 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde2.12 per million
Benzene0.85 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge87
NPDES wastewater discharge permit37
Brownfield property6
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Combined sewer overflow outfall3
Major air pollution source2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
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.

Morganfield Adhesive Plant, Morganfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Methyl isobutyl ketone, Ethylbenzene. Reports carcinogens. 30,478 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42437DWSNM3564U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Vibracoustic Adhesive Plant, Morganfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002346195 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
River View Coal Llc [913-5015 & 913-9003], Morganfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009698229 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Morganfield Wwtp, Morganfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064612557 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Morganfield Wwtp, Morganfield
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0021440:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Morganfield Wwtp, Morganfield
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0021440:002 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Morganfield Wwtp, Morganfield
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0021440:004 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Dozit Co Inc, Morganfield
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006749224 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
River View Coal Llc, Waverly
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063956651 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Vibracoustic Adhesive Plant, Morganfield
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002346195 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Morganfield Industrial Park - Tract 2, Morganfield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015330426 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Morganfield Industrial Park - Tract 1, Morganfield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015337492 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Millikan Automotive, Morganfield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975327 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Us Post Office Property, Sturgis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114801 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Commercial Store, Sturgis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114953 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Emba Building, Sturgis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114954 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Dozit Co Inc, Morganfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006749224 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Hurst Mobile Village, Sturgis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006750015 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Sturgis Stp, Sturgis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006751979 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Dekoven Dock Inc, Sturgis
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004373: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Uniontown Stp, Uniontown
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0025844: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Union Co State Maintenance Garage, Morganfield
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004668: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Uniontown Stp, Uniontown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009939004 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Alcoa Fuels Inc-Caseyville Dock, Sturgis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011204749 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Union Co State Maintenance Garage, Morganfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045049782 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8

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 Union 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 Union 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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