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Graham County, Arizona: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Graham County is 149.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 226 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (102), Industrial wastewater discharge (48), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (15). One correctional facility operates in the county. EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 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: 33.0284, -109.9552.

How this county ranks in Arizona

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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 Graham County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.7	6.6	1.17x	4.5 to 12.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10.1	8.7	1.16x	6.3 to 15.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20	17.9	1.12x	14.2 to 27.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	149.1	143.2	1.04x	132.9 to 166.8	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	22.6	23.8	0.95x	16.6 to 30.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.6	11.3	0.94x	6.6 to 16.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.3	30.2	0.94x	21.5 to 36.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	12.4	13.9	0.89x	7.9 to 18.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.4	18.7	0.88x	11.3 to 23	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	327.2	453.4	0.72x	302.6 to 353.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	8.7	14.5	0.6x	5 to 14	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	29.9	51.8	0.58x	22.9 to 38.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	10.5	18.5	0.57x	6.5 to 16.2	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 Graham County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,352.6	9,842.6	+15%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.5	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	54.2	59.8	-9%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.6	6.2	-9%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	102.6	96.9	+6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	36.7	28.6	+28%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde12.47 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.62 per million
Acetaldehyde0.76 per million
Pahpom0.43 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing102
Industrial wastewater discharge48
NPDES wastewater discharge permit15
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Brownfield property9
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)8
Public airport6
Small hazardous waste generator4
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Large hazardous waste generator3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Heliport2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Landfill (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.

Freeport-Mcmoran Safford Inc, Safford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Copper And Copper Compounds, Chromium and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,697,517 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 85548FRPRT85NFR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.7
Freeport Mcmoran Safford, Safford
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037149519 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Federal Correctional Institution Safford, Safford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 8554WFDRLC1529W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
San Carlos Apache Health Center, Peridot
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067306613 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Federal Correctional Institution Safford, Safford
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055499964 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Eurofresh Farms - Willcox, Willcox
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045433535 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Old Country Club, Safford
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970023 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
728 S. 9th Ave, Safford, Az, Safford
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973816 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Safford Airport Terminal, Safford, Az, Safford
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973817 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
San Carlos Apache Tribal Old Security Building, San Carlos
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975098 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
San Carlos Apache Tribal Epa Building, San Carlos
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071980227 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
768 Concho, Safford
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072005087 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
4269 Palmer Lane, Thatcher
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072005088 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
620 South 7th Avenue, Safford
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072077765 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Head Start Building, San Carlos
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072080155 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
City Of Safford - Gila Resources Wrp, Safford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012330520 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Freeport Mineral Corporation - Central Analytical Service Center, Safford
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024426940 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Freeport Mcmoran Safford, Safford
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037149519 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
O'Reilly Auto Parts #2752
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072140464 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Flying J Ranch, Pima
Public airport. O.
Record ID E37 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Safford Rgnl/1lt Duane Spalsbury Fld, Safford
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID SAD (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Reay Lane Wastewater Treatment Facility
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1306275755 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Safford Landfill, Safford
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1312476729 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Cactus Dry Cleaners & Laundry Services, Safford
Dry cleaner (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1381300886 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Safford Wastewater Treatment Plant, Safford
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/890862900 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Federal Correctional Institution Safford, Safford
EPA FRS registry ID
110055499964
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Graham County

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