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Lawrence County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lawrence County is 178.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 2.3 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 231 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (93), Rail grade crossing (87), Air permit holder (minor source) (19). 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: 35.2362, -87.3984.

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 Lawrence County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	7.7	3.4	2.26xSignificant	4.8 to 11.8	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	6	3.7	1.62x	3.5 to 9.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	27.5	17.9	1.54xSignificant	21.4 to 34.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	44.1	30.2	1.46xSignificant	37 to 52.3	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	6.3	4.4	1.43x	3.5 to 10.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	68.1	51.8	1.31xSignificant	59 to 78.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.3	4.8	1.31x	3.8 to 10	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	18.7	14.5	1.29x	13.7 to 25	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	178.9	143.2	1.25xSignificant	163.7 to 195.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7.1	5.7	1.25x	4.2 to 11.3	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	21	18.7	1.12x	15.9 to 27.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.7	18.5	1.12x	15.8 to 26.8	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.9	6.2	1.11x	4 to 11.1	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5	4.6	1.09x	2.8 to 8.3	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.1	6.6	1.08x	4.4 to 11.1	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.8	13	1.06x	9.3 to 19.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	475	453.4	1.05x	449.5 to 501.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.8	11.3	1.04x	8.3 to 16.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	13.4	13.9	0.96x	9.6 to 18.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.9	6.6	0.89x	3.5 to 9.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.9	23.8	0.75x	13.1 to 23.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.2	8.7	0.71x	3.7 to 9.9	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 Lawrence County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,411.3	9,842.6	+26%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.8	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	51.6	59.8	-14%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.7	6.2	+40%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	108.7	96.9	+12%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	36.4	28.6	+27%	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.

Formaldehyde22.43 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde2.33 per million
Benzene0.79 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 356 days: 290 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 33, peak 68.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit93
Rail grade crossing87
Air permit holder (minor source)19
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Small hazardous waste generator5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
TRI reporting facility4
Major air pollution source2
Brownfield property2
Large hazardous waste generator2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Heliport1
Superfund (NPL) site1
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.

Murray-Ohio Dump, Lawrenceburg
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 46.4. NPL Site.
EPA site ID TND980728836 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Graphic Packaging International, Llc, Lawrenceburg
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000375148 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Graphic Packaging International Llc, Lawrenceburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone. 33,466 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 38464CRSPC2006L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Modine Manufacturing Co, Lawrenceburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043418600 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Graphic Packaging International, Llc, Lawrenceburg
Major air pollution source. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000375148 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Modine Manufacturing Co, Lawrenceburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese. 209 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 38464MDNMN2009R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.8
Lawrenceburg Wastewater Treatment Plant, Lawrenceburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $7,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005006518 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Graphic Packaging International, Llc, Lawrenceburg
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000375148 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Graphic Packaging International, Llc, Lawrenceburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000375148 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Modine Manufacturing Co, Lawrenceburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese. 77 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3846WMDNMN24REM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Tpr Federal-Mogul Tennessee, Inc, Lawrenceburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054862895 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Loretto, Loretto
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 470990003 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.3
Modine Manufacturing Company, Lawrenceburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000375157 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.1
Tpr Federal-Mogul Tennessee Inc., Lawrenceburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese. 23 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3846WTPRFD21HEL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.1
Summertown High School, Summertown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,840.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037278718 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Loretto Stp, Loretto
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009786623 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Graftech International Holdings Inc, Lawrenceburg
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056958591 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Modine Manufacturing Co, Lawrenceburg
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043418600 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Craig Manufacturing Usa Inc., Ethridge
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071714912 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
510 W Point Rd, Lawrenceburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072152026 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
527 E Gaines, Lawrenceburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072154580 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Graftech International Holdings Inc, Lawrenceburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056958591 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Precision Laser Mfg, Lawrenceburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,250.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070238552 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Dura Automotive Systems, Lawrenceburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates.
TRI facility ID 38464XCLND2200H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Dus Operating, Inc., Lawrenceburg
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000375175 (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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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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