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Monroe County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Monroe County is 172.6 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 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 295 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (156), Rail grade crossing (33), Air permit holder (minor source) (32). 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: 35.439, -84.2145.

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 Monroe County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	96.6	51.8	1.86xSignificant	86.6 to 107.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	51.3	30.2	1.7xSignificant	44.1 to 59.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.4	17.9	1.25x	17.2 to 28.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14.1	11.3	1.25x	10.5 to 18.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	172.6	143.2	1.21xSignificant	158.7 to 187.5	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	22.5	18.7	1.2x	17.9 to 28.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.5	4.8	1.15x	3.1 to 9.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	492.3	453.4	1.09xSignificant	468.1 to 517.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20	18.5	1.08x	15.1 to 26.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.1	5.7	1.07x	3.8 to 9.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.1	8.7	1.05x	6.4 to 13	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.3	13.9	1.03x	10.6 to 19.1	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.2	4.1	1.02x	2.4 to 7.2	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.3	23.8	0.98x	18.4 to 29.2	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4.5	4.6	0.98x	2.5 to 7.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.2	6.6	0.94x	3.9 to 9.6	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.6	6.2	0.9x	3.1 to 9.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.5	14.5	0.86x	8.9 to 17.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	9.7	13	0.75x	6.1 to 14.6	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 Monroe County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,494	9,842.6	+57%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.8	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	70.3	59.8	+18%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.3	6.2	+1%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	139.9	96.9	+44%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	54.4	28.6	+90%	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.

Formaldehyde22.49 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde2.36 per million
Benzene0.91 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit156
Rail grade crossing33
Air permit holder (minor source)32
TRI reporting facility13
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)13
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Large hazardous waste generator9
Major air pollution source8
Small hazardous waste generator8
Public airport4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Heliport2
Commercial airport1
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.

Yamaha Jet Boat Manufacturing Usa Inc, Vonore
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Dimethyl phthalate and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,611,610 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37885CBBTC2000C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.4
Mastercraft Boat Co, Vonore
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate, Dimethyl phthalate, Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 1,397,159 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37885MSTRC100CH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.2
Sea Ray Boats Tellico Facility, Vonore
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate, Dimethyl phthalate, Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 1,124,313 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37885SRYBT100SE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Ikon Boats Llc, Madisonville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate, Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 89,182 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3735WHYDRS26IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Glasmasters, Sweetwater
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 49,431 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3787WGLSMS72NEW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Merritt Precision Llc, Sweetwater
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 21,436 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3787WMRRTT36SWE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Mastermelt America, Sweetwater
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel compounds, Phenol, Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Silver. Reports carcinogens. 5,598 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37874MSTRM313IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Mastercraft Boat Company, Vonore
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000373293 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Yamaha Jet Boat Manufacturing Usa, Inc., Vonore
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000373275 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Sea Ray Inc - Tellico Facility, Vonore
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004980575 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Ikon Boats, Llc, Madisonville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071294255 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
Vestal Manufacturing Enterprises Inc., Sweetwater
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 254 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37874VSTLM177IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Ngk Metals Corp, Sweetwater
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Beryllium. Reports carcinogens. 104 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37874NGKMT917ST (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Glasmasters, Sweetwater
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071711748 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Merritt Precision, Llc, Sweetwater
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058345081 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Mastermelt America Llc, Sweetwater
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028259765 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Vestal Mfg Co, Sweetwater
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002106694 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Oldcastle Infrastructure, Sweetwater
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $3,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070205935 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Arrow Recycling, Sweetwater
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Copper. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 3787WRRWRC325IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Sweetwater Utility Board-Filter Plant, Sweetwater
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012847544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Protech Metal Finishing Llc, Vonore
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016711673 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Protech Metal Finishing Llc, Vonore
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016711673 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Culpeper Of Sweetwater Llc, Sweetwater
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Copper compounds, Arsenic compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 37874LNGDL555SO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Ngk Metals Corp, Sweetwater
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000590165 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Polyone Corp, Vonore
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004980762 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4

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 Monroe 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 Monroe 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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