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Bedford County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Bedford County is 187 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 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 281 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (151), Rail grade crossing (53), Gas station (mapped facility) (24). 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: 35.5118, -86.4506.

How this county ranks in Tennessee

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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 Bedford County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	55.2	30.2	1.83xSignificant	46.9 to 64.5	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	6.6	4.1	1.61x	4 to 10.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	79.1	51.8	1.53xSignificant	69.2 to 90.2	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	5.3	3.7	1.43x	3 to 8.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	15.4	11.3	1.36x	11.2 to 20.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	187	143.2	1.31xSignificant	171.3 to 203.8	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	23.7	18.7	1.27x	18.4 to 30.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21	17.9	1.17x	16 to 27.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10	8.7	1.15x	6.8 to 14.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.4	4.8	1.13x	3 to 8.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	466.5	453.4	1.03x	441.6 to 492.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.7	13.9	0.99x	9.7 to 18.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.1	14.5	0.97x	10 to 19.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.3	18.5	0.94x	12.8 to 22.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.1	6.6	0.92x	3.7 to 9.6	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.8	6.6	0.88x	3.3 to 9.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	19.5	23.8	0.82x	14.6 to 25.5	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	8.2	13	0.63x	5.1 to 12.5	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 Bedford County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,720.4	9,842.6	+19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.8	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	70.2	59.8	+17%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.4	6.2	+35%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	104.8	96.9	+8%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	35.9	28.6	+25%	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.

Formaldehyde20.97 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.31 per million
Benzene0.92 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit151
Rail grade crossing53
Gas station (mapped facility)24
Air permit holder (minor source)21
Public airport5
Scrapyard (mapped facility)5
Large hazardous waste generator3
Small hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Brownfield property2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Airfield1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
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.

Tyson Farms Inc-Processing, Shelbyville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Peracetic acid, Hydrogen sulfide. 750,268 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37160TYSNFWJACK (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Cooper'S Steel Fabricators, Shelbyville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 529 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3716WCPRSS53NHI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Tyson Foods Inc - Processing, Shelbyville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000370651 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Marelli N.A. Inc. - Shelbyville, Shelbyville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium. 1,778 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37160CLSNCONECA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Cooper'S Steel Fabricators, Shelbyville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071434166 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Calsonic North America, Shelbyville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002106015 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Shelbyville Wastewater Treatment Plant, Shelbyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000541165 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Duksan Electera America, Inc., Shelbyville
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $38,125.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072046674 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Bell Buckle Stp, Bell Buckle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,974.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009705890 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
516 Depot St, Shelbyville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072154596 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Fire Department, Wartrace
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072250646 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tyson Foods Inc - Processing, Shelbyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000370651 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Bedford County Utility District Water Treatment, Shelbyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000579703 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Jensen'S Incorporated, Shelbyville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001864616 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Wartrace Stp, Wartrace
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009789069 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Preferred Sandblasting And Painting, Llc, Shelbyville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070633499 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Tyson Foods Inc - Processing, Shelbyville
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000370651 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Shelbyville Quarry, Shelbyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064421692 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Coey Tanning Co., Inc, Wartrace
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000370777 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
American National Can Co, Shelbyville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000820336 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Hawkins Asphalt Paving, Llc, Shelbyville
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $1,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027234669 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Cooper'S Steel Fabricators, Inc., Shelbyville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031331388 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Cooper'S Steel Fabricators, Inc., Shelbyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031331388 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Rogers Group, Inc. - Deason Quarry/Hawkins Asphalt Paving - Deasonimi Tennesse, Shelbyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071711388 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Bomar Fld/Shelbyville Muni, Shelbyville
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID SYI (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2

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 Bedford County

Tennessee 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 Bedford County, and their findings.
Tennessee vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Tennessee health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Tennessee 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.
Tennessee 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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