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Claiborne County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Claiborne County is 199.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Esophagus deaths at 2.4 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 2.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 210 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (97), Rail grade crossing (56), Air permit holder (minor source) (17). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 40 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: 36.4668, -83.6558.

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 Claiborne County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	10.9	4.6	2.37xSignificant	6.9 to 16.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	8.7	3.7	2.35xSignificant	5.2 to 13.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	67.3	30.2	2.23xSignificant	57.4 to 78.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	91.5	51.8	1.77xSignificant	79.6 to 104.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	199.4	143.2	1.39xSignificant	181.1 to 219.3	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	14.5	11.3	1.28x	10 to 20.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	17.3	13.9	1.24x	12.2 to 24.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.9	18.7	1.12x	15.2 to 28.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	488.7	453.4	1.08xSignificant	459.3 to 519.6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.6	13	1.05x	8.5 to 20.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.7	17.9	0.99x	12.4 to 24.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.2	14.5	0.91x	8.5 to 19.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.5	18.5	0.84x	10.7 to 22	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.1	23.8	0.76x	12.6 to 25.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.2	8.7	0.71x	3.5 to 10.7	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 Claiborne County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,193.5	9,842.6	+44%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.1	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	53.9	59.8	-10%	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	109.1	96.9	+13%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	48.6	28.6	+70%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 40 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde19.58 per million
Ethylene Oxide12.59 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.85 per million
Acetaldehyde2.1 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 363 days: 353 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 35, peak 100.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit97
Rail grade crossing56
Air permit holder (minor source)17
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Scrapyard (mapped facility)5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
TRI reporting facility4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Brownfield property1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1

Highest-severity records

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

Sumiriko Tennessee - Tazewell, Tazewell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl isobutyl ketone, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 113,617 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37879DTRTN15HES (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Royal Sterilization Systems, New Tazewell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene oxide, Ethylene glycol. Reports carcinogens. 8,060 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37825RYLST1135H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Royal Sterilization Systems, New Tazewell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene oxide. Reports carcinogens. 755 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37825QLTXT1601H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Sumiriko Tennessee, Inc. - Tazewell, Tazewell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017350392 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Tackett Creek Surface Mine 2, Clairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,192.
EPA FRS registry ID 110066881217 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Royal Sterilization Sys, New Tazewell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002338738 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Kopper Glo Mining, Llc Dba Marion Tipple, Clairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $8,486.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001861539 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Kopper Glo Mining, Llc Dba Marion Tipple, Clairfield
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $8,486.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001861539 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
England Inc, New Tazewell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001862495 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Giles Industries, New Tazewell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030999999 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Kopper Glo Mining Llc - Cooper Ridge Surface Mine, Clairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060263584 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Straight Creek Surface Mine, Clairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069994332 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Cooper Ridge Surface Mine Phase Ii, Clairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070133589 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Sumiriko Tennessee, Inc. - Tazewell, Tazewell
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017350392 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Kopper Glo Mining Llc - Ben'S Branch Mine, Clairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021030356 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Kopper Glo Mining Llc - Clear Fork Surface Mine, Clairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060369916 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Sumiriko Tennessee, Inc. - Tazewell, Tazewell
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017350392 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Sumiriko Tennessee, Inc. - Tazewell, Tazewell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017350392 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
England Inc, New Tazewell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37825NGLND42LDK (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.2
Tazewell Oil/Brooks Furniture Property, Tazewell
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970310 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Giles, New Tazewell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates.
TRI facility ID 37825GLSND45SBR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Claiborne Utilities District, Tazewell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006690624 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Clearfork Utility District-Wells 1 & 2, Clairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012946795 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Mountainside Coal Company, Clairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024464916 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Kopper Glo Mining Llc - Double Mountain Mine, Clairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064781945 (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 Claiborne 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 Claiborne 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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