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Webster County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Webster County is 195 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 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 174 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (85), Rail grade crossing (33), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (31). 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: 37.4981, -87.6972.

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 Webster County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	50.8	30.2	1.68xSignificant	37 to 68.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	75.6	51.8	1.46xSignificant	58.4 to 96.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.4	17.9	1.36x	14.2 to 39.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	195	143.2	1.36xSignificant	165.6 to 228.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	476.7	453.4	1.05x	429.4 to 528.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17	18.7	0.91x	10 to 28.1	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 Webster County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,678.9	9,842.6	+59%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.1	75.3	-7%	years
Child mortality	99.6	59.8	+67%	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	105.4	96.9	+9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	28.6	28.6	-0%	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.

Formaldehyde21.69 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde2.22 per million
Pahpom0.88 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge85
Rail grade crossing33
NPDES wastewater discharge permit31
Landfill (mapped facility)4
Major air pollution source3
Brownfield property3
TRI reporting facility3
Gas station (mapped facility)2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Coal power plant1
Gas power plant1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

R D Green, Robards
Coal power plant.
Record ID 6639 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6.5
Clay Stp, Clay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006751693 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Phoenix Fabricators & Erectors Inc, Sebree
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064229437 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Phoenix Fabricators & Erectors Inc, Sebree
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese. 36 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42455PHNXF1329U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.2
Tyson Foods Feed Mill, Sebree
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039616760 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Amg Aluminum North America Llc, Robards
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056971077 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Big River Reid/Green Hm&Pl Station Ii, Robards
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000591422 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Texas Gas Transmission Llc - Slaughters Compressor, Slaughters
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000793847 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Sebree, City Of, Sebree
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011194046 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
R D Green, Sebree
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070823823 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Providence Wwtp, Providence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009939460 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Webster Coal Llc [Consolidated], Clay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064426385 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Robert A Reid, Robards
Gas power plant.
Record ID 1383 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.1
Former Grocery Store, Providence
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071982782 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Barret & Broadway Properties, Providence
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071982783 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Tobacco Warehouse, Providence
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071982784 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Big River Reid/Green Hm&Pl Station Ii, Robards
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000591422 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Texas Gas Transmission Llc - Slaughters Compressor, Slaughters
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000793847 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Amg Aluminum North America Llc, Robards
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056971077 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Hopkins Co Coal Llc [917-0033 & 917-0034], Providence [Webster]
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYGW40032: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Sebree Mining Llc [Consolidated], Sebree
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYGW40060: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Tyson Chicken Inc. Feed Mill, Sebree
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 42455HDSNF1791U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Providence Wwtp, Providence
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KY0021296: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Hopkins Co Coal Llc [917-0033 & 917-0034], Providence [Webster]
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045067618 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Webster Co State Maintenance Garage #363, Dixon
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004681: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7

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 Webster 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 Webster 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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