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Desha County, Arkansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Desha County is 204.9 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 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 190 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (67), Rail grade crossing (58), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (25). 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: 33.8189, -91.3041.

How this county ranks in Arkansas

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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 Desha County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	Deaths	20.4	11.3	1.81x	11.3 to 34.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	46.5	30.2	1.54xSignificant	32.5 to 65.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	204.9	143.2	1.43xSignificant	172.3 to 242.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	70.8	51.8	1.37xSignificant	53.2 to 93.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	521.5	453.4	1.15xSignificant	468.3 to 579.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23	23.8	0.97x	13 to 38.3	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 Desha County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,390.2	9,842.6	+56%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.6	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	98.5	96.9	+2%	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.

Formaldehyde23.34 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde2.31 per million
Benzene0.64 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge67
Rail grade crossing58
NPDES wastewater discharge permit25
Air permit holder (minor source)11
Brownfield property5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Public airport3
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Small hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility3
Major air pollution source2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Biomass power plant1
Hydroelectric 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.

Clearwater Paper Corp, Arkansas City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Manganese compounds, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,750,145 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71654PTLTCHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.7
Clearwater Paper App Cb, Arkansas City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012414985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Saf-Holland, Dumas
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 408 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7163WSFHLL81SMA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Saf-Holland Inc Dumas, Dumas
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 387 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71639HLLND1103S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Dumas Wwtp, Dumas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025344054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Saf-Holland Usa, Inc., Dumas
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006171427 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Central Wire (Dumas Division), Dumas
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Ammonia, Zinc (fume or dust) and 1 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 7163WCNTRL12HWY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Central Wire Dumas, Dumas
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006037350 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Arkansas City, City Of-Wwtf, Arkansas City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009124660 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Mcgehee Producers Gin, Inc., Mcgehee
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012149585 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Clearwater Paper App Cb, Arkansas City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012414985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Tillar, City Of, Tillar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010066766 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Mcgehee, City Of, Mcgehee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010066775 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Scott Tractor Site, Dumas
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025144476 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Delta Memorial Hospital, Dumas
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057003255 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Waterman Street Property, Dumas
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071964708 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Waterman Street Property, Dumas
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071966741 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Cotton Gin, Dumas
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071979184 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Dumas, City Of, Dumas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002042192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Clearwater Paper App Cb, Arkansas City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012414985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Dumas, City Of-Wwtp, Dumas
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AR0033987: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Harvest Rice, Llc., Mcgehee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $980.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001712399 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Clearwater Paper App Cb, Arkansas City
Biomass power plant.
Record ID 50638 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 2.5
Tillar, City Of, Tillar
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AR0033707: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Harvest Rice, Llc., Mcgehee
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $980.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001712399 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3

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 Desha County

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