AR / county FIPS 05141 / county research

Van Buren County, Arkansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Van Buren County is 180.9 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 125 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (43), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (32), Air permit holder (minor source) (31). 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: 35.5768, -92.5284.

How this county ranks in Arkansas

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Van Buren County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	28.9	18.7	1.55xSignificant	20.9 to 39.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	27.1	17.9	1.51x	17.8 to 40	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	17	11.3	1.5x	10.3 to 27.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	44.3	30.2	1.47xSignificant	34.4 to 57	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	74.5	51.8	1.44xSignificant	60.8 to 91.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	18.3	13.9	1.32x	11.3 to 28.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	180.9	143.2	1.26xSignificant	158.3 to 206.4	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	29.2	23.8	1.23x	19.1 to 43.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.3	18.5	1.15x	12.8 to 33.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	495.7	453.4	1.09xSignificant	455.1 to 539.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.7	14.5	1.08x	9.4 to 25.6	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 Van Buren County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,384.7	9,842.6	+16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.9	75.3	-2%	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	122.7	96.9	+27%	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.

Formaldehyde21.25 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde2.06 per million
Benzene0.8 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge43
NPDES wastewater discharge permit32
Air permit holder (minor source)31
Large greenhouse gas emitter7
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Hazardous waste transporter2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Clinton East Ww Treatment Facility, Clinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001203466 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Clinton Water & Sewer, Clinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011376386 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
South Side Bee Branch Football Facility, Bee Branch
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070949451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Clinton West Ww Treatment Facility, Clinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002042156 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Sepco Southwestern Energy Production Company- Damascus Supply Base, Damascus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062019042 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Fairfield Bay Wastewater Corporation - Dave Creek Wwtp, Fairfield Bay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006786503 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Cove Creek Cpf-2, Bee Branch
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033131527 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Gravel Hill Cpf-2, Cleveland
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033131536 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Desoto - Steelhead Cpf-2, Clinton
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037574915 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
North Yellowstone Cpf-1, Higden
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037578494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Yellowstone Cpf-2, Quitman
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038046272 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
North Yellowstone Cpf-2, Bee Branch
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040489682 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Wilson Creek Compressor Station, Clinton
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071216205 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Clinton Water & Sewer, Clinton
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit ARG640085: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Delta Asphalt Of Arkansas, Inc, Clinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038621916 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Aday Quarry, Leslie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032996042 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Heavy Equipment Operating Academy Llc, Bee Branch
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072085246 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Holley Mountain Airpark, Clinton
Public airport. O.
Record ID 2A2 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Clinton Muni, Clinton
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID CCA (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
South Side Bee Branch Wwtp, Bee Branch
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AR0053228: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.8
Delta Asphalt Of Arkansas, Inc, Clinton
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110038621916 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Fairfield Bay-Hamilton Hills, Fairfield Bay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009124651 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Boy Scouts Of America - Gus Blass Scout Reservation, Damascus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009125179 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Fairfield Bay Wastewater Corp. - Lynn Creek, Fairfield Bay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010064973 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rogers Group, Inc., Clinton, Ar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017844671 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Van Buren 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 Van Buren 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.

Scan an address in Van Buren County View on the heat map All Arkansas counties