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Hancock County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Hancock County is 228.3 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 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 23 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (8), Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility) (4), Gas station (mapped facility) (4). 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: 36.4932, -83.2623.

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 Hancock County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	104.2	51.8	2.01xSignificant	76.6 to 139.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	60.5	30.2	2xSignificant	40.9 to 87.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	228.3	143.2	1.59xSignificant	187.9 to 276.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	570.9	453.4	1.26xSignificant	500.3 to 649.5	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 Hancock County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,407.9	9,842.6	+57%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.8	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	108.1	96.9	+12%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde18.89 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.84 per million
Acetaldehyde2.03 per million
Benzene0.78 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Gas station (mapped facility)4
Major air pollution source1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Oil-fired power plant1
Wastewater plant (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.

Powell Valley Electric Cooperative, Kyles Ford
Major air pollution source. Penalties $9,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069571939 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Powell Valley, Kyles Ford
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 7883 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Volunteer Fabricators Inc., Sneedville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000590138 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
City Of Sneedville Stp, Sneedville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009788514 (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/1291208602 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Treadway Circle Water & Sewer, Treadway
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009789256 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Hackney Home Furnishings, Inc., Sneedville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020144039 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kiefer Mfg. And Sales Llc, Sneedville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063758786 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kiefer Mfg. And Sales Llc, Sneedville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063758786 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hancock County Water Line Improvements, Sneedville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070624914 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hancock County Park, Sneedville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070829351 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hancock County Water Line Improvements For Atlanthus Hill Road, Tazwell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071310342 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tdot, Sneedville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072107424 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Volunteer Fabricators Inc., Sneedville
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000590138 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Clinch River Market, Sneedville
Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/6589482023 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Auto Repair
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1287562390 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Campbell Motors (Closed)
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1291683049 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Fuel Station
Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1292263664 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
BP
Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1292805417 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Fuel Station, Sneedville
Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/583056355 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Car Care Center
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/590261255 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Auto Repair
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/653167949 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Mountain Outlaw, Sneedville
Public airport. O.
Record ID TN11 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 0.5

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 Hancock 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 Hancock 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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