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Grainger County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Grainger County is 191 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 2.1 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 136 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (44), Rail grade crossing (41), Scrapyard (mapped facility) (20). 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: 36.2514, -83.5488.

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 Grainger County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	64.3	30.2	2.13xSignificant	53.1 to 77.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	99.5	51.8	1.92xSignificant	85.6 to 115.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	191	143.2	1.33xSignificant	170.6 to 213.4	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30.8	23.8	1.29x	22.4 to 41.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	22.4	18.7	1.2x	15.9 to 31.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.4	18.5	1.1x	13.9 to 29.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	481.2	453.4	1.06x	447.7 to 516.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.2	17.9	1.02x	12 to 26.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.8	13.9	0.92x	8.1 to 19.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11	13	0.85x	6 to 18.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.4	11.3	0.83x	5.7 to 15.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	11.7	14.5	0.81x	6.7 to 19.2	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 Grainger County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,202.6	9,842.6	+44%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.3	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	73.2	59.8	+22%	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	133.8	96.9	+38%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	64.2	28.6	+125%	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.

Formaldehyde21.53 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.86 per million
Acetaldehyde2.33 per million
Benzene1 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit44
Rail grade crossing41
Scrapyard (mapped facility)20
Air permit holder (minor source)9
Gas station (mapped facility)8
Public airport3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Hydroelectric 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.

Clayton Homes - Rutledge, Rutledge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000373168 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Clayton Bean Station, Bean Station
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007848302 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Clayton Bean Station, Bean Station
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates.
TRI facility ID 37708NRRSHHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Clayton Rutledge, Rutledge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates.
TRI facility ID 37861CLYTNRTE2B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Washburn School, Washburn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036695779 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Kingswood School, Inc., Bean Station
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058286377 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Twra - Buffalo Springs Fish Hatchery, Rutledge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006689761 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Grainger County Industrial Park Stp, Rutledge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009787695 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Rutledge Stp, Rutledge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009788989 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Joppa Elementary School, Rutledge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010148571 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Rockhold - Pond Excavation, Bean Station
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071545424 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Blaine Wastewater Treatment Plant, Blaine
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/911686151 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Grainger County Industrial Park Wastewater Treatment Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/918793243 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Pasminco Zinc Inc Clinch Valley Mine, Thorn Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000605104 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. Dba Riverbend Quarry, Rutledge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009706844 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Young Portable Crusher Plant, Tazewell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030769675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Thomas J. Vineyard Water Treatment Plant, Rutledge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038451644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tva Cherokee Hydro Plant, Rutledge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054861967 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mine 12 - Owl Hole Gap, Rutledge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060263566 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
T & D Furniture Co, Thornhill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063618964 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Grainger County Quarry, Bean Station
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069994731 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Miller'S Auto Parts And Repair, Bean Station
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069996675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Clinch River Hardwoods, Thorn Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069996840 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cmh Manufacturing, Inc. Dba Clayton Bean Station, Bean Station
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070002969 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cmh Manufacturing, Inc. Dba Clayton Rutledge, Rutledge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070003012 (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 Grainger 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 Grainger 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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