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Warren County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Warren County is 173.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 854 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (357), Industrial wastewater discharge (295), Rail grade crossing (54). 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: 36.982, -86.4058.

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 Warren County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3.5	2	1.75xSignificant	2.2 to 5.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	49	30.2	1.62xSignificant	44 to 54.4	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	6.6	4.1	1.61xSignificant	4.8 to 8.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	71.2	51.8	1.37xSignificant	65.1 to 77.7	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	3.7	2.7	1.37x	2.4 to 5.5	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.3	6.2	1.34x	6.2 to 10.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.4	4.8	1.33x	4.6 to 8.7	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	29.3	23.8	1.23xSignificant	25.3 to 33.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	173.6	143.2	1.21xSignificant	163.8 to 183.7	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.3	4.4	1.2x	3.7 to 7.2	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	22.2	18.7	1.19x	18.7 to 26.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.6	5.7	1.16x	4.8 to 8.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.7	3.4	1.09x	2.4 to 5.5	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5	4.6	1.09x	3.5 to 7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	472	453.4	1.04xSignificant	455.8 to 488.6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.3	13	1.02x	10.6 to 16.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.8	8.7	1.01x	6.7 to 11.3	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	16.2	16.4	0.99x	10.1 to 24.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11	11.3	0.97x	8.7 to 13.7	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.6	3.7	0.97x	2.3 to 5.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	14.1	14.5	0.97x	11.4 to 17.3	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.3	6.6	0.95x	4.5 to 8.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.6	18.5	0.95x	14.6 to 21	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.8	17.9	0.94x	13.8 to 20.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.1	6.6	0.92x	4.5 to 8.1	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	9.7	13.9	0.7x	7.6 to 12.4	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 Warren County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,208.2	9,842.6	-6%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.3	75.3	+0%	years
Child mortality	54.8	59.8	-8%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.9	6.2	-5%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	73.8	96.9	-24%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	23.3	28.6	-18%	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.

Formaldehyde22.67 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.45 per million
Benzene1.16 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 284 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 39, peak 73.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit357
Industrial wastewater discharge295
Rail grade crossing54
Gas station (mapped facility)30
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)28
TRI reporting facility21
Small hazardous waste generator14
Air permit holder (minor source)13
Brownfield property11
Large hazardous waste generator10
Major air pollution source9
Hazardous waste transporter4
Heliport2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
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.

General Motors Llc Bowling Green Assembly Plant, Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Methyl isobutyl ketone, n-Butyl alcohol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 434,455 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42101GNRLMI65US (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Trace Die Cast Inc, Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol, Copper, Aluminum (fume or dust), Chromium and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 216,217 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42101TRCDC140NG (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Bowling Green Metalforming, Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Manganese, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 206,729 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42103BWLNG111CS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Owl'S Head Alloys Inc., Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Nickel, Copper, Lead and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 180,415 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42101WLSHD187MI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Sherwin-Williams Co, Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, Ethylbenzene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 101,667 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42101LLLYN347CE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Crown Cork & Seal Co Usa Inc., Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, n-Butyl alcohol, Hydrogen fluoride, Lead and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 88,009 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4210WCRWNC1291P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Valor Llc, Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Methyl tert-butyl ether and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 25,488 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42101CCHLD407RA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Valor Llc, Bowling Green
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $1,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380221 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.7
Trace Die Cast Inc, Bowling Green
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001244494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Owls Head Alloys Inc, Bowling Green
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015680253 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Stupp Bridge Co, Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc (fume or dust), Manganese, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 3,561 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42101STPPB445CE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Bowling Green Metalforming Llc, Bowling Green
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $7,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020067595 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.2
The Sherwin-Williams Co, Bowling Green
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380294 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Bando Usa Inc, Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Zinc compounds. 71,846 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40065BNDMN2720P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Pan Oston Co, Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese, Zinc compounds. Reports carcinogens. 755 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42101PNSTN6944L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Lord Corp, Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Xylene (mixed isomers). 62,097 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42101LRDCR2800P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
General Motors Llc, Bowling Green
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000568350 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Kobelco Aluminum Automotive Products Llc, Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Aluminum (fume or dust), Nitric acid, Manganese, Copper. 40,057 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42101KBLMN525CE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Georgia-Pacific Consumer Operations Llc, Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 158 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42101FRTJM399SO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products, Llc, Bowling Green
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056350210 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Crown Cork & Seal Usa Inc., Bowling Green
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071198564 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Owens-Brockway Glass Container Inc, Bowling Green
Major air pollution source. Penalties $25,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071861774 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Stoody Company, Bowling Green
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Manganese, Nickel, Cobalt. Reports carcinogens. 35 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42101STDYC5557N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Stupp Bridge Company, Bowling Green
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003255192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Bilstein Cold Rolled Steel Lp, Bowling Green
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070207810 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5

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 Warren 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 Warren 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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