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Bethel Census Area, Alaska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Bethel Census Area is 215 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 2.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 274 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (92), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (75), Commercial airport (31). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 9 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: 60.4199, -162.2724.

How this county ranks in Alaska

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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 Bethel Census Area compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Stomach	New cases	28.5	6.6	4.32xSignificant	17.4 to 44.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	65	30.2	2.15xSignificant	36.4 to 103.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	215	143.2	1.5xSignificant	163.9 to 274.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.9	17.9	1.28x	13.4 to 37.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	60.4	51.8	1.17x	37.8 to 90.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	426.1	453.4	0.94x	367.8 to 490.3	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 Bethel Census Area
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	18,066.5	9,842.6	+84%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	68.9	75.3	-9%	years
Child mortality	200.5	59.8	+235%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.6	6.2	+39%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	234.1	96.9	+141%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	19.9	28.6	-30%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 9 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde4.08 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3.16 per million
Benzene0.86 per million
Acetaldehyde0.58 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge92
NPDES wastewater discharge permit75
Commercial airport31
Air permit holder (minor source)20
Brownfield property11
Public airport8
Landfill (mapped facility)8
Oil-fired power plant7
Airfield5
Hazardous waste transporter4
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Major air pollution source2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
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.

Crowley Marine Services Bethel, Bethel
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Benzene, n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,055 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9955WCRWLY38STA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Blue Sky Estates Subdivision Roadways_2, Bethel
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $8,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070947160 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Crowley Marine Services - Bethel, Bethel
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054100487 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Bethel, Bethel
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID BET (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Chuathbaluk Wastewater Lagoon, Aniak
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056343229 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Napaskiak Wastewater Lagoon, Napaskiak
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056343504 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Paul T Albert High School Lksd, Tununak
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067601125 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Aniak Airport, Aniak
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070500395 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mertarvik Wwtf, Mertarvik
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070544426 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Faulkner Hot Springs Creek Mine Site, Aniak
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071065161 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ryan Air Inc Bethel Hub, Bethel
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071081005 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ryan Air Inc Aniak Hub, Aniak
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071083820 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Bnc Sand Pit, Bethel
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071094707 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mertarvik Subdivision, Newtok
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071158044 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Nyac Lower Bear Creek Drainage Mine Site, Aniak
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024880538 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Lewis Angapak Memorial School Lksd, Tuntutuliak
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055090976 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Kongiganak Lagoon, Kongiganak
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056343489 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Nightmute Wwtf, Nightmute
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056343522 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
New Kasigluk Sewage Lagoon, Kasigluk
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069558721 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Old Kasigluk Lagoons, Kasigluk
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070072423 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bethel, Bethel
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 6566 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Toksook Bay, Toksook Bay
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 57067 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Kasigluk, Kasigluk
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 57066 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Aniak, Aniak
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 7182 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Quinhagak, Quinhagak
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 57057 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 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 Bethel Census Area

Alaska 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 Bethel Census Area, and their findings.
Alaska vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Alaska health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Alaska 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.
Alaska 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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