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Lauderdale County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lauderdale County is 221.6 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 1.9 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 109 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (31), Rail grade crossing (24), Gas station (mapped facility) (21). 2 correctional facilities operate in the county. 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: 35.7417, -89.6834.

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 Lauderdale County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	57.9	30.2	1.92xSignificant	46.6 to 71.2	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	10.6	6.6	1.61x	6 to 17.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	221.6	143.2	1.55xSignificant	198.3 to 247.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	79.1	51.8	1.53xSignificant	65.9 to 94.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	12.7	8.7	1.46x	7.8 to 19.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25.9	17.9	1.45xSignificant	18.3 to 35.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14.4	11.3	1.27x	8.8 to 22.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15.4	13.9	1.11x	9.6 to 23.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	476.4	453.4	1.05x	441.8 to 513	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.3	18.7	0.93x	11.5 to 25.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.3	14.5	0.85x	7.2 to 19.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	13	23.8	0.55x	7.6 to 20.9	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 Lauderdale County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,551.3	9,842.6	+48%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.7	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	110.2	59.8	+84%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	11.5	6.2	+85%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	97.8	96.9	+1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	22.6	28.6	-21%	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.

Formaldehyde22.68 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde2.24 per million
Benzene0.73 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit31
Rail grade crossing24
Gas station (mapped facility)21
Air permit holder (minor source)17
Scrapyard (mapped facility)4
Correctional facility (prison or jail)2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Srg Global Coatings Llc, Ripley
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Formaldehyde, Nickel, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,420 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 38063SRFTNOLDHI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Ripley Wastewater Lagoon, Ripley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016755000 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
West Tn State Penitentiary-Clearwell, Henning
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009787720 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Crafco Inc. - Halls, Halls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 38040CRFCN121IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Marvin Windows Of Tennessee, Ripley
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001857027 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Henning Water Systems/ Waste Water Pump Station, Henning
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $11,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009788578 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Crafco, Inc. - Halls, Halls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012705563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Halls Lagoon, Halls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009787962 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Srggi - Ripley, Ripley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,050.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042031262 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Srggi - Ripley, Ripley
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $10,050.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042031262 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
West Tn State Penitentiary-Clearwell, Henning
Correctional facility (prison or jail).
EPA FRS registry ID 110009787720 (U.S. EPA ECHO + SDWIS) Agency record
Severity 2.7
Marvin Windows Of Tennessee, Ripley
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001857027 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Lauderdale County Water System, Ripley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006691062 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1373377188 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/907869118 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Coon Dance Auto Parts And Sales, Gates
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070381137 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
White'S Salvage, Ripley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070672910 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Best-Wade Petroleum Inc, Ripley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000373836 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lauderdale County Highway Department, Ripley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006689226 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hutcherson Metals, Inc.- Halls Yard, Halls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007859371 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Armour Pit, Ripley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009785740 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Crafco, Inc. - Halls, Halls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012705563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Project #49131-1203-94 And 49131-3209-94 Pin #115184.00 And 122644.00, Ripley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069995591 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
American Recycling, Gates
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069997464 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Marvin Windows Of Tennessee, Inc., Ripley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070002648 (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.

West Tn State Penitentiary-Clearwell, Henning
EPA FRS registry ID
110009787720
Water system
TN0000245
Health-based violations
0 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
31
Wastewater permit
Yes, 10 quarters in noncompliance
EPA detailed facility report
Tdoc - West Tennessee State Penitentiary, Henning
EPA FRS registry ID
110071896535
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale 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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