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Sebastian County, Arkansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Sebastian County is 166.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate and Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,028 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (323), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (245), Rail grade crossing (156). 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: 35.1904, -94.2343.

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 Sebastian County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3.3	2	1.65xSignificant	2.1 to 5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9.7	6.6	1.47xSignificant	7.6 to 12.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	43.4	30.2	1.44xSignificant	39 to 48.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66.4	51.8	1.28xSignificant	60.9 to 72.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.5	17.9	1.26xSignificant	19.2 to 26.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10.7	8.7	1.23x	8.6 to 13.3	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.3	4.4	1.2x	3.7 to 7.3	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	27.9	23.8	1.17xSignificant	24.2 to 32.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.2	6.2	1.16x	5.3 to 9.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	166.1	143.2	1.16xSignificant	157.2 to 175.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.9	3.4	1.15x	2.7 to 5.6	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	14.9	13	1.15x	12 to 18.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.4	18.7	1.14x	18.3 to 25	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.3	5.7	1.11x	4.6 to 8.4	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.3	4.8	1.1x	3.8 to 7.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	471.8	453.4	1.04xSignificant	456.4 to 487.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4.7	4.6	1.02x	3.3 to 6.5	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.1	4.1	1x	2.8 to 5.8	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.7	3.7	1x	2.6 to 5.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	14	14.5	0.97x	11.4 to 17	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.4	13.9	0.96x	10.9 to 16.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.7	18.5	0.9x	14 to 19.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.1	11.3	0.81x	7.2 to 11.5	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	4.5	6.6	0.68x	3.1 to 6.3	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 Sebastian County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,658.8	9,842.6	+18%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.5	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	66.3	59.8	+11%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6	6.2	-3%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	82.7	96.9	-15%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	24.4	28.6	-15%	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.

Formaldehyde23.4 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde2.3 per million
Naphthalene1.24 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,028 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Industrial wastewater discharge323
NPDES wastewater discharge permit245
Rail grade crossing156
Air permit holder (minor source)96
Gas station (mapped facility)57
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)29
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)24
Brownfield property22
TRI reporting facility20
Small hazardous waste generator18
Large hazardous waste generator11
Major air pollution source7
Hazardous waste transporter5
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Commercial airport2
Heliport2
Landfill (mapped facility)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.

Graphic Packaging International, Llc, Fort Smith
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022815284 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.9
Owens Corning-Fort Smith, Fort Smith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 90,498 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72903WNSCR5000P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Gerdau-Fort Smith Mill, Fort Smith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Copper compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 33,345 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72902QNXMC4700P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Ok Foods-Ft Smith, Fort Smith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Peracetic acid, Chlorine. 2,224,207 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72902KFDSNREEDL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Ineos Composites Us Llc, Fort Smith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate, Hydroquinone, Cobalt compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 22,399 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72901CPLSN5106W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Ok Foods Inc, Fort Smith
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064123470 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.8
Gerber Products Co., Fort Smith
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000453517 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.8
Abb Motors & Mechanical Inc., Fort Smith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Copper, Nickel, Chromium and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 10,042 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72901BLDRL5711S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Us Army National Guard Fort Chaffee Ranges, Fort Chaffee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead And Lead Compounds. 268,395 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72905SRMYF4THAV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Gerdau Macsteel - Fort Smith Plant, Fort Smith
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $1,920.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000453401 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Graphic Packaging International, Llc, Fort Smith
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022815284 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Abb Motors & Mechanical Inc., Fort Smith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,689 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72902STHWS4900W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Graphic Packaging International Llc, Fort Smith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol. 66,727 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72923GRPHC13RBE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Gnb Fort Smith Llc, Fort Smith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Cadmium, Antimony. Reports carcinogens. 688 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72901GNBNC4115S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Gerber Products Co, Fort Smith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid. 47,657 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72917GRBRP4301H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
U.S. Army Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center, Fort Smith
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037147922 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
University Of Arkansas - Fort Smith, Fort Smith
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001710667 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Barling Wwtf, Barling
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042200132 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Fort Smith, City Of-Massard Water Reclamation Facility, Barling
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064594899 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Applied Process Fort Smith, Fort Smith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sodium nitrite. 7,810 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7290WPPLDP54N6T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Apac-Central Inc. - Southside Ready Mix, Fort Smith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead And Lead Compounds. 4,162 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7290WPCRKN5215S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Trane U.S. Inc., Fort Smith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese, Copper and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 42 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72916MRCNS9900A (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Alta Performance Materials Us, Llc., Fort Smith
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012818102 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Saint Gobain Proppants, Fort Smith
Major air pollution source. Penalties $12,332.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001710630 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Graphic Packaging International, Llc, Fort Smith
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022815284 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5

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 Sebastian 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 Sebastian 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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