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Van Buren County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Van Buren County is 176.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 44 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (35), Air permit holder (minor source) (5), Public airport (1). 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: 35.652, -85.4654.

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 Van Buren County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	52.1	30.2	1.73xSignificant	33.6 to 79.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	70.9	51.8	1.37x	50.2 to 99.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	176.5	143.2	1.23x	141.5 to 219.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	443.5	453.4	0.98x	382.8 to 512.3	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 Van Buren County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,543.8	9,842.6	+58%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.4	75.3	-6%	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	125.3	96.9	+29%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde19.43 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.83 per million
Acetaldehyde1.87 per million
Benzene0.7 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit35
Air permit holder (minor source)5
Public airport1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Camcar Llc Spencer Operations, Spencer
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nickel, Chromium, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 629 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 38585TWNSNDUNNS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Camcar Llc - Spencer Operations, Spencer
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043779113 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Isha Institute Of Inner Sciences, Mcminnville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $8,112.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070383532 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Isha Foundation, Mcminnville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $29,610.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071847933 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Tdec-Fall Creek Falls St Park, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009787819 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Warren County Ud #2 (Spencer), Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017849122 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Bmj Stone Company, Llc - Bickford Quarry, Pikevlle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064781963 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Dry Creek Processing, Mcminnville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070791690 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/13971047764 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Camcar Llc - Spencer Operations, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043779113 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Spencer Stp, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012714465 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Isha Foundation Subdivision - Phase Ii, Mcminnville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069996687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tdot Project #88018-0211-94 Pin #115008.00, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070133255 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Fall Creek Falls State Park, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070251420 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
George Property Borrow Area, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070668847 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Isha Yoga Center, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070668961 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Isha Foundation, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071143226 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lot #89 Of The Lakes At Long Branch Lakes Sec 3, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071236597 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Clark Chicken Barn Construction, Pikeville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071238428 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Brian London Property, Pikeville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071347452 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Family Dollar Tree, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071376398 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Oakes Chicken Barns, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071376622 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Caney Fork Boat And Rv Storage, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071403284 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Isha School, Mcminnville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071500269 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Statewide Dam Repairs - Fall Creek Falls Dam, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071505064 (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 Van Buren 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 Van Buren 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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