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Sumner County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Sumner County is 159.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate and Brain & nervous system deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 703 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (461), Air permit holder (minor source) (76), Gas station (mapped facility) (45). 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: 36.4482, -86.4728.

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 Sumner County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3	2	1.5xSignificant	2.1 to 4.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	6.2	4.4	1.41xSignificant	4.9 to 7.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39.4	30.2	1.3xSignificant	36 to 43.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.2	3.4	1.24x	3.1 to 5.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	61.6	51.8	1.19xSignificant	57.3 to 66.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.7	4.8	1.19x	4.4 to 7.3	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	19	16.4	1.16x	13.3 to 26.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.5	17.9	1.15xSignificant	18 to 23.2	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7	6.2	1.13x	5.5 to 8.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.8	18.5	1.12x	18.2 to 23.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	159.6	143.2	1.11xSignificant	152.5 to 167	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.3	11.3	1.09x	10.4 to 14.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.1	5.7	1.07x	4.7 to 7.7	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	481.4	453.4	1.06xSignificant	469 to 494.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.5	18.7	1.04x	17 to 22.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.3	13.9	1.03x	12.3 to 16.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4.7	4.6	1.02x	3.5 to 6.1	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.6	2.7	0.96x	1.8 to 3.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	13.4	14.5	0.92x	11.4 to 15.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8	8.7	0.92x	6.5 to 9.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6	6.6	0.91x	4.7 to 7.6	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	6	6.6	0.91x	4.7 to 7.5	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	3.6	4.1	0.88x	2.6 to 4.9	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	11.1	13	0.85x	9.2 to 13.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	20	23.8	0.84x	17.5 to 22.9	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	2.8	3.7	0.76x	2 to 3.9	2020-2024

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 Sumner County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,307.1	9,842.6	-5%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.6	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	43.1	59.8	-28%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.5	6.2	-28%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	90.8	96.9	-6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	37	28.6	+29%	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.

Formaldehyde22.86 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde2.4 per million
Benzene1.13 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 358 days: 248 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 44, peak 119.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit461
Air permit holder (minor source)76
Gas station (mapped facility)45
Rail grade crossing45
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)13
TRI reporting facility11
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)10
Large hazardous waste generator9
Small hazardous waste generator9
Major air pollution source4
Large greenhouse gas emitter4
Landfill (mapped facility)3
Public airport2
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Coal power plant1
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.

U.S. Tva Gallatin Fossil Plant, Gallatin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium And Barium Compounds, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Ammonia, Vanadium compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,874,192 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37066STVGL1499S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.7
Hoeganaes Corp, Gallatin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Manganese compounds, Lead compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 44,596 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37066HGNSC810ST (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
American Colors Inc. Dispersion Facility Gallatin Tn, Gallatin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates, Styrene, Zinc compounds. Reports carcinogens. 9,812 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3706WMRCNC1385G (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Gallatin (Tn), Gallatin
Coal power plant.
Record ID 3403 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 7.6
John L. Armitage & Co., Gallatin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Butyl acrylate, Certain glycol ethers, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). Reports carcinogens. 4,558 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37066JHNLR545NA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Tva Gallatin Fossil Plant, Gallatin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000493136 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Ascent Buildings Llc, Portland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Mixture. 64,502 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3714WSCNTB214FU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Kirby Building System, Portland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 251 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37148KRBYBKIRBY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Hoeganaes Corp, Gallatin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000370134 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Ascent Buildings, Llc, Portland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071084231 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
American Colors, Inc., Gallatin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063691009 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
John L. Armitage & Co., Gallatin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000370143 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Tms International Llc, Gallatin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Nickel compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 34 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3706WTMSNT1315A (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Hendersonville, Hendersonville
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 471650007 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5
Beretta Usa Corp, Gallatin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070055334 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Portland Stp, Portland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006521031 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Gallatin Stp, Gallatin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009789050 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Insteel Wire Products, Gallatin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000370152 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Insteel Wire Products, Gallatin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds. 131 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37066RPPHN600RA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Kirby Building Systems, Portland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007862296 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.6
Hendersonville U.D.-Cumberland Ri., Hendersonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012952956 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Beretta Usa, Gallatin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 3706WBRTTS1399G (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Simpson Strong Tie, Gallatin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 3706WSMPSN375NB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Gt Technologies Of Tennessee Inc, Hendersonville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Copper compounds, Chromium, Copper And Copper Compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 37075BTTYM324FR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Tms International, Llc @ Gallatin Tn, Gallatin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070070887 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3

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 Sumner 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 Sumner 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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