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Robertson County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Robertson County is 180.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Esophagus deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 333 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (216), Air permit holder (minor source) (32), Rail grade crossing (28). 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: 36.5018, -86.8817.

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 Robertson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	8.9	4.6	1.93xSignificant	6.2 to 12.5	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	6.5	3.7	1.76xSignificant	4.3 to 9.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	50.4	30.2	1.67xSignificant	43.8 to 57.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	21.9	14.5	1.51xSignificant	17.5 to 27.1	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	24.4	16.4	1.49x	14.5 to 38.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.8	3.4	1.41x	2.9 to 7.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	72.7	51.8	1.4xSignificant	64.8 to 81.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7.6	5.7	1.33x	5 to 11	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	14.5	11.3	1.28x	11.1 to 18.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	180.2	143.2	1.26xSignificant	167.3 to 193.9	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.5	6.2	1.21x	5 to 10.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.8	6.6	1.18x	5.4 to 11	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.2	13.9	1.17x	12.6 to 20.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.2	17.9	1.13x	16.2 to 25.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.4	4.8	1.13x	3.3 to 8.4	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	489.7	453.4	1.08xSignificant	468.4 to 511.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.6	4.4	1.05x	2.8 to 7.2	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	19.4	18.7	1.04x	15.2 to 24.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	22.5	23.8	0.95x	18 to 27.7	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6	6.6	0.91x	3.9 to 8.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.5	8.7	0.86x	5.2 to 10.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.1	18.5	0.82x	11.5 to 19.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.4	13	0.8x	7.4 to 14.2	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 Robertson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,571.6	9,842.6	+18%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.7	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	59.7	59.8	-0%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6	6.2	-3%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	116.5	96.9	+20%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	50	28.6	+75%	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.

Formaldehyde22.71 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde2.38 per million
Benzene1.03 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit216
Air permit holder (minor source)32
Rail grade crossing28
Gas station (mapped facility)23
Small hazardous waste generator8
Public airport4
Large hazardous waste generator4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
TRI reporting facility3
Major air pollution source2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
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.

Electrolux Consumer Products Inc., Springfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Nickel compounds, Cobalt And Cobalt Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 26,205 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37172WCRNG1100I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Kyowa America Corp, Portland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene. Reports carcinogens. 8,134 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3714WKYWMR139FR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Kyowa America Corporation, Portland
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054863466 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Clean Harbors Tennessee, Llc, Greenbrier
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $34,900.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000702044 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Springfield Water And Wastewater Department - Wastewater Treatment Plant, Springfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006367779 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Greenbrier Stp, Greenbrier
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $7,900.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009789096 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Clean Harbors Tennessee, Llc, Greenbrier
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $34,900.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000702044 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Adams-Cedar Hill Water System, Adams
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020127502 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Kyowa America Corporation, Portland
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054863466 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Sr Smith Llc, Portland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 3714WSRSMT5557H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
White House Stp, White House
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006367886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Electrolux Home Products, Inc, Springfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000370759 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Clean Harbors Tennessee, Llc, Greenbrier
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $34,900.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000702044 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Drew Foam Company, Portland
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001865955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Depor Industries, Inc., Portland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045491428 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
East Tennessee Natural Gas, Llc, Greenbrier
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007190226 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Drew Foam Company, Portland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001865955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gateway Packaging Company, Llc/Dba Proampac, White House
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041680954 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Kyowa America Corporation, Portland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054863466 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Lowe'S Nashville, Tn Dfc #3311, Pleasant View
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070717458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Woodard Brothers Distributing, Llc, White House
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071381285 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Depor Industries-South, Portland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 3714WDPRND122FR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Martin Marietta Materials Inc - Forks Of The River, Springfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015632467 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Smyrna Ready Mix Concrete Llc (Formerly Metro Ready Mix Concrete, Llc), Pleasant View
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $8,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025212437 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Kyowa America Corporation, Portland
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054863466 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5

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 Robertson 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 Robertson 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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