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Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Fairbanks North Star Borough is 129 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 720 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (260), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (155), Rail grade crossing (77). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 40 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: 64.8552, -146.3702.

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 Fairbanks North Star Borough compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5	3.4	1.47x	2.9 to 7.9	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	15.7	13	1.21x	12.1 to 20	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.7	5.7	1.18x	4.3 to 9.9	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	21.8	18.7	1.17x	17.5 to 26.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.4	6.6	1.12x	5 to 10.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	30.8	30.2	1.02x	25.6 to 36.6	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.6	4.6	1x	2.8 to 7.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.7	17.9	0.99x	13.7 to 22.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	442.5	453.4	0.98x	422.5 to 463.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.2	8.7	0.94x	5.9 to 11.3	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.4	3.7	0.92x	1.9 to 5.6	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	6	6.6	0.91x	3.8 to 9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	129	143.2	0.9x	118.1 to 140.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	11.9	13.9	0.86x	8.9 to 15.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	44.1	51.8	0.85x	37.9 to 50.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11.7	14.5	0.81x	8.6 to 15.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.8	18.5	0.75x	10.4 to 17.8	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	4.4	6.2	0.71x	2.6 to 6.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	7.5	11.3	0.66x	5.2 to 10.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	12.7	23.8	0.53x	9.6 to 16.6	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 Fairbanks North Star Borough
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,712.7	9,842.6	-11%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.7	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	59.2	59.8	-1%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.5	6.2	-12%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	97.8	96.9	+1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	19.5	28.6	-32%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 40 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde16.78 per million
Naphthalene5.18 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3.12 per million
Acetaldehyde2.55 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge260
NPDES wastewater discharge permit155
Rail grade crossing77
Gas station (mapped facility)41
Hazardous waste transporter30
Air permit holder (minor source)23
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)20
Public airport17
Small hazardous waste generator14
Landfill (mapped facility)13
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)13
TRI reporting facility11
Major air pollution source8
Brownfield property6
Large hazardous waste generator5
Scrapyard (mapped facility)5
Coal power plant4
EPA air quality monitor3
Commercial airport3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Oil-fired power plant2
Superfund (NPL) site2
Airfield1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Battery storage plant1
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.

Fort Knox Mine, Fairbanks
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $550,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003037883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Eielson Air Force Base, Fairbanks North Star Borough
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 48.1. NPL Site.
EPA site ID AK1570028646 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Fort Wainwright, Fairbanks North Star Borough
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 42.4. NPL Site.
EPA site ID AK6210022426 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Fort Knox Mine, Fairbanks
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Arsenic compounds, Lead compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 82,587,310 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 99707FRTKN1FORA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Eielson Air Force Base, Eielson Afb
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041255003 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.5
Apma 9156-Gil Exploration Site, Fairbanks
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070502882 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.3
Doyon Utilities, Llc / Fort Wainwright (Privatized Emission Units), Fort Wainwright
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $466,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828170 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.2
Us Dod Usaf Eielson Afb Ak, Eielson Afb
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium And Barium Compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Mercury And Mercury Compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,061,344 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 99702LSNRF2258C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Fort Wainwright Main Cantonment, Fort Wainwright
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Manganese compounds, Copper, Aluminum (fume or dust) and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 729,531 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 99703SDPRT1060G (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Apma 9156-Gil Exploration Site, Fairbanks
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead compounds, Mercury compounds, n-Hexane, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 284,525 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9971WPMGLXNNEPR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Chena Power Plant, Fairbanks
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041255012 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.1
Doyon Utilities Ft Wainwright Ak, Fort Wainwright
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Manganese compounds, Barium And Barium Compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 9,257 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 99703DYNTL3564N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Golden Valley Electric Assoc North Pole Power Plant, North Pole
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Cyclohexane, Benzene, Polycyclic aromatic compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 9,175 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9970WGLDNV119HH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Petro Star Inc. North Pole Refinery, North Pole
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzene, n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers), Polycyclic aromatic compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 8,719 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 99705PTRST1200H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Mpc Alaska Terminal Co Llc- North Pole, North Pole
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Hexane, Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 8,333 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 99705MPCLS1100H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Hurst Road
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 020900035 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 7.2
Fairbanks International Airport, Fairbanks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $13,525.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000885891 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Fort Knox Mine, Fairbanks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $550,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003037883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Petro Star Fairbanks Rail & Truck Terminal, Fairbanks
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,369 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9970WPTRST1845H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Eielson Air Force Base, Eielson Afb
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041255003 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Chena Power Plant, Fairbanks
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041255012 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Emulsion Products Co - North Pole Facility, North Pole
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 303 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9970WMLSNP25HLL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Doyon Utilities, Llc / Fort Wainwright (Privatized Emission Units), Fort Wainwright
Major air pollution source. Penalties $466,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828170 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
University Of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks
Coal power plant.
Record ID 50711 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6
Aurora Energy Llc Chena, Fairbanks
Coal power plant.
Record ID 79 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6

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 Fairbanks North Star Borough

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 Fairbanks North Star Borough, 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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