TN / county FIPS 47129 / county research

Morgan County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Morgan County is 193.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 65 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (29), Gas station (mapped facility) (12), Rail grade crossing (11). 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: 36.1433, -84.6656.

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 Morgan County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	48.7	30.2	1.61xSignificant	38 to 61.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	77.4	51.8	1.49xSignificant	63.8 to 93.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	15.6	11.3	1.38x	9.8 to 23.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	193.9	143.2	1.35xSignificant	171.2 to 219.1	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	17.2	13.9	1.24x	11.2 to 25.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.5	17.9	1.09x	12.7 to 28.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.6	18.7	0.99x	12.2 to 27.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	445.3	453.4	0.98x	410.7 to 482.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.2	18.5	0.93x	10.9 to 26.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.6	14.5	0.87x	7.2 to 20.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.9	23.8	0.79x	12 to 28.6	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 Morgan County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,305.2	9,842.6	+35%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.9	75.3	-5%	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	133.8	96.9	+38%	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.

Formaldehyde19.84 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.84 per million
Acetaldehyde1.94 per million
Benzene0.76 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit29
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Rail grade crossing11
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Major air pollution source1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
Small hazardous waste generator1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Heraeus Precious Metals N.A. Llc, Wartburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Silver, Lead, Nickel and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,217 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37887HRSMT1975K (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Heraeus Precious Metals North America, Llc, Wartburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004955825 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Wartburg Stp, Wartburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $15,248.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009705765 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Heraeus Precious Metals North America, Llc, Wartburg
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004955825 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Coalfield School, Harriman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $510.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027713614 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Heraeus Precious Metals North America, Llc, Wartburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004955825 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ellis Property, Sunbright
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040821199 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bodycote Surface Technology Wartburg, Inc., Wartburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007192563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Brushy Mountain Water Treatment Plant (Wtp), Petros
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038779337 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Bodycote Surface Technology Wartburg, Inc., Wartburg
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $4,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007192563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Oliver Springs Tipple, Oliver Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009706906 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Oakdale School, Oakdale
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010948190 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Etng, Llc, Wartburg Station 3110, Wartburg
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001862039 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Town Of Oakdale Wwtp, Oakdale
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009787551 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Brushy Mountain Rv Park, Petros
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009787677 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Petros - Joyner School Stp, Wartburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013737509 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
R & R Lumber Co., Inc., Harriman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070001343 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Morgan County Cdbg Project, Wartburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070238146 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sewer System Improvements, Wartburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070554333 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pud Water System Improvements, Wartburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070667923 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cobb-Vantress Pedigree Farm, Deer Lodge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070672813 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cud Water Line Improvements, Oliver Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070883410 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Morgan County Rv Park, Wartburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071235581 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dollar General Oakdale, Oakdale
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071311452 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sr-116 Bridge Over Stockstill Creek, Petros
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071312114 (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 Morgan 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 Morgan 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 Morgan County View on the heat map All Tennessee counties