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Whitley County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Whitley County is 221.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 2.6 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 2.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 432 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (212), Rail grade crossing (101), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (73). 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: 36.7801, -84.1635.

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 Whitley County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	8.7	3.4	2.56xSignificant	5.1 to 13.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	74.9	30.2	2.48xSignificant	63.9 to 87.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	122.7	51.8	2.37xSignificant	108.4 to 138.3	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	7.8	4.1	1.9xSignificant	4.5 to 12.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	221.4	143.2	1.55xSignificant	201.6 to 242.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	20.7	14.5	1.43xSignificant	14.9 to 28.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	25	18.7	1.34x	18.7 to 32.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30.9	23.8	1.3x	23.4 to 40	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	576.5	453.4	1.27xSignificant	544 to 610.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.3	17.9	1.19x	15.4 to 28.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	15.4	13	1.18x	10.3 to 22.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.7	6.6	1.17x	4.4 to 12.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.2	18.5	1.15x	15.4 to 28.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.6	8.7	0.99x	5.2 to 13.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11	11.3	0.97x	6.9 to 16.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	9.2	13.9	0.66x	5.5 to 14.5	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 Whitley County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	16,850	9,842.6	+71%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	68.5	75.3	-9%	years
Child mortality	61.3	59.8	+3%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.3	6.2	+1%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	130.8	96.9	+35%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	60.8	28.6	+112%	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.

Formaldehyde19.27 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde2.03 per million
Benzene1.01 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge212
Rail grade crossing101
NPDES wastewater discharge permit73
Gas station (mapped facility)20
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Brownfield property6
Small hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Scrapyard (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.

Williamsburg Stp, Williamsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $15,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006751737 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Firestone Industrial Products, Williamsburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 310 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40769FRSTN1FIRE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Firestone Industrial Products, Williamsburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001135655 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Kopper Glo Mining Llc [918-0496], Frakes
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $105,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044898340 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Kopper Glo Mining Llc (918-0499), Frakes
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $105,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055366642 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Rapiscan Systems, Corbin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 4070WRPSCN13W23 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Kopper Glo Mining [918-0502], Siler [Whitley]
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $105,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070553915 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mountainside Coal Co Inc 918-0509, Corbin [Whitley]
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070868137 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Rapiscan Systems, Corbin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071434459 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ferroglobe Usa Mining, Llc, Williamsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017371976 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Former Post Office, Williamsburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043454981 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Tracey Apts, Corbin
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071966384 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Corbin Farmers Market, Corbin
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975488 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tracy Apts, Corbin
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977925 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
First Baptist Church, Corbin
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977927 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Corbin Library, Corbin
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977928 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Williamsburg Plastics, Williamsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003248049 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Oak Grove Elementary School, Corbin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021545586 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Investment Energy Llc [918-0462], Williamsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056350041 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Eastern Kentucky Recycling Llc, Williamsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056350416 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Ferroglobe Usa Mining, Llc, Rockholds
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070892748 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Williamsburg Stp, Williamsburg
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0028347: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Ferroglobe Usa Mining Llc, Nevisdale
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYGE41119: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Boston Elementary School, Williamsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021545513 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Sims Bark Company, Woodbine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070795108 (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 Whitley 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 Whitley 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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