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Decatur County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Decatur County is 191.2 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 75 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (52), Air permit holder (minor source) (7), Gas station (mapped facility) (5). 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: 35.6152, -88.1124.

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 Decatur County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	104	51.8	2.01xSignificant	84.6 to 127.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	54.5	30.2	1.8xSignificant	40.6 to 72.5	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	191.2	143.2	1.34xSignificant	163.2 to 223.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	19	14.5	1.31x	10.5 to 32.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.1	17.9	1.23x	13.4 to 35.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	511.5	453.4	1.13xSignificant	462.7 to 564.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.4	18.7	0.88x	9.2 to 28.2	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 Decatur County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,620	9,842.6	+49%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.7	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	96.4	59.8	+61%	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	115.7	96.9	+19%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	37.6	28.6	+32%	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.

Formaldehyde22.06 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.41 per million
Benzene0.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit52
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Brownfield property1
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.

Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc. - Parsons, Parsons
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Lead, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 38363KCHMTHWY41 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Manitowoc Foodservice Group (Parsons), Parsons
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064203669 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc Parsons, Parsons
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008056897 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Decaturville Wwtp, Decaturville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010948181 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Benton-Decatur Counties Special Sewer District, Parsons
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017693815 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Kolpak Llc (Parsons), Parsons
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates. 10 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 38363KLPKNHWY64 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.8
Parsons Stp, Parsons
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,080.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006802273 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Decaturville Sportswear Property, Decaturville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038744730 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Pevahouse Mine, Decaturville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,235.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070668829 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
North Ud Of Decatur And Benton Counties, Parsons
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009706997 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1164976942 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1443294413 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Volner Sawmill, Inc., Parsons
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069999937 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Tinker-Wakins Sand & Gravel, Inc., Parsons
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071142796 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Three Gauge Inc., Decaturville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071644907 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Parsons Water Treatment Plant, Parsons
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006689869 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc Parsons, Parsons
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008056897 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Parsons Quarry, Parsons
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009162752 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Decatur County Quarry, Parsons
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009706602 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Irm Utility, Inc - Riverstone Estates Wastewater Treatment Plant, Bath Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017888115 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wally-Mo Inc., Parsons
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020745997 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kolpak, Llc, Parsons
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031522868 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tri-County Concrete Products, Inc., Parsons
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040433607 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Scotts Hill Turnbo Creek Water Treatment Plant, Scotts Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043261573 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Decatur County Municipal Solid Waste Landfill, Bath Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062732173 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Decatur 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 Decatur 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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