TN / county FIPS 47111 / county research

Macon County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Macon County is 200.6 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 2.1 times the U.S. rate and Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 66 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (39), Air permit holder (minor source) (7), Gas station (mapped facility) (7). 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: 36.527, -86.0142.

How this county ranks in Tennessee

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Macon County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	63.1	30.2	2.09xSignificant	51.2 to 77.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	95.9	51.8	1.85xSignificant	81.1 to 112.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	11.3	6.6	1.71xSignificant	6.7 to 18.1	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	200.6	143.2	1.4xSignificant	178.3 to 225	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.4	17.9	1.36x	16.9 to 34.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	542.2	453.4	1.2xSignificant	505 to 581.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	15.3	13	1.18x	9 to 24.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.7	18.7	1.16x	14.7 to 30.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.4	14.5	1.06x	9.6 to 23.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.1	18.5	0.98x	11.8 to 26.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.9	23.8	0.92x	14.8 to 31.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	10.8	13.9	0.78x	6.3 to 17.5	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 Macon County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,855.6	9,842.6	+31%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.5	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	55.6	59.8	-7%	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	128.2	96.9	+32%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	46.9	28.6	+64%	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.

Formaldehyde20.62 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.23 per million
Benzene0.81 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit39
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Small hazardous waste generator5
Public airport2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Major air pollution source1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1

Highest-severity records

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

Volunteer Adhesive Corp, Lafayette
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Trichloroethylene, Cyclohexane, Dichloromethane and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 91,809 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3708WVLNTR57IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Volunteer Adhesives, Lafayette
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020480451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Red Boiling Springs Stp, Red Boiling Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,290.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009786240 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fleetwood Homes Of Tennessee Inc #27-2, Lafayette
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000370205 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Columbia Gulf Transmission Llc Hartsville Cs, Hartsville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001864448 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Columbia Gulf Transmission Llc Hartsville Cs, Hartsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001864448 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Tennplasco, Llc, Lafayette
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $7,770.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005004636 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Lafayette Stp, Lafayette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006690802 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Fleetwood Homes Inc., Lafayette
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates.
TRI facility ID 37083FLTWD739HW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Columbia Gulf Transmission Llc Hartsville Cs, Hartsville
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001864448 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Tennplasco, Llc, Lafayette
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $7,770.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005004636 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Lafayette Muni, Lafayette
Public airport. O.
Record ID 3M7 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Garrott Brothers Continuous Mix, Inc.- Lafayette, Lafayette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009705658 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Red Boiling Springs Wtp, Red Boiling Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009786375 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Qualls Auto Salvage, Lafayette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024587213 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Clark Lumber Company, Inc., Red Boiling Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037598702 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Likens Auto Salvage, Lafayette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071253447 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Fleetwood Homes Of Tennessee Inc #27-2, Lafayette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000370205 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Columbia Gulf Transmission Hartsville Compressor Station, Hartsville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008121488 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
City Of Lafayette Water Treatment Plant, Lafayette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017754367 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Westside Elementary School, Westmoreland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021448879 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Walmart Supercenter #879, Lafayette
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043853960 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Frito Lay Warehouse, Westmoreland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070100081 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dallas Bolton, Lafayette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070100161 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sean Woodcock Poultry Houses, Pleasant Shade
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070367231 (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 Macon 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 Macon 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.

Scan an address in Macon County View on the heat map All Tennessee counties