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Ouachita County, Arkansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ouachita County is 174.5 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 299 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (101), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (71), Rail grade crossing (66). 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: 33.5886, -92.9107.

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 Ouachita County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	29.1	17.9	1.63xSignificant	20.4 to 40.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	16.9	11.3	1.5x	11 to 25.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	12.7	8.7	1.46x	7.4 to 20.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	42.7	30.2	1.41xSignificant	33.7 to 54	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	68.9	51.8	1.33xSignificant	57 to 83	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	174.5	143.2	1.22xSignificant	154.4 to 197	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.6	13.9	1.19x	10.8 to 24.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	487.1	453.4	1.07x	451.5 to 525.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.9	18.5	0.86x	10.3 to 23.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.6	18.7	0.83x	10 to 23.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	16.9	23.8	0.71x	10.5 to 25.9	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 Ouachita County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,753.5	9,842.6	+50%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.8	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	81.4	59.8	+36%	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	103.9	96.9	+7%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	16.3	28.6	-43%	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.

Formaldehyde23.9 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.28 per million
Benzene0.84 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge101
NPDES wastewater discharge permit71
Rail grade crossing66
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Brownfield property12
Air permit holder (minor source)9
Large hazardous waste generator6
Major air pollution source4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1
TRI reporting facility1
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.

Ouachita Nevada Wood Treater, Reader
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID ARD042755231 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc, East Camden
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), 1-Bromopropane, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 898,383 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71701TLNTCWALTO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Camden Timbers, Llc, Camden
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025115998 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Anthony Timberlands Inc, Bearden
Major air pollution source. Penalties $5,740.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003398163 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Camden Timbers, Llc, Camden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025115998 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
John L. Mcclellan Generating Station, Camden
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000450985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Anthony Timberlands Inc, Bearden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,740.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003398163 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
John L Mcclellan Generating Station, Camden
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Naphthalene, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71701RKNSS1625B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.8
John L. Mcclellan Generating Station, Camden
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000450985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Stephens Paper Co., Stephens
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024970156 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
John L. Mcclellan Generating Station, Camden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000450985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Harmony Grove Public School, Camden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015662264 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bearden Wwtp, Bearden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039817160 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Turner Residence, Camden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042201480 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Dr. Mark Crump, Camden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060292687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Michele Beaty, Camden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070027160 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Sammie Andrews, Camden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070045205 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Trevor Cross, Camden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070149670 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Henry Purifoy, Camden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070152235 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Good Home Baptist Church, Louann
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070265474 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Danna Vint, Camden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070604978 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Brent Benson Atu, Bearden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071427799 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Jake Morgan Atu, Camden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071441612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
John L. Mcclellan Generating Station, Camden
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000450985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Stephens, City Of, Stephens
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010067088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8

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 Ouachita 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 Ouachita 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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