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Kern County, California: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Kern County is 144.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Stomach deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate and Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 4,506 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (930), Small hazardous waste generator (893), Wastewater plant (mapped facility) (755). 17 correctional facilities operate in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. 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: 35.3098, -118.7203.

How this county ranks in California

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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 Kern County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	Deaths	0.7	0.5	1.4x	0.4 to 1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.3	8.7	1.3xSignificant	10.3 to 12.4	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	3.5	2.7	1.3xSignificant	2.9 to 4.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.3	6.6	1.26xSignificant	7.5 to 9.3	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	16.1	13	1.24xSignificant	14.9 to 17.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.3	17.9	1.13xSignificant	18.9 to 21.7	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	Deaths	2.1	1.9	1.11x	1.3 to 3.2	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.5	4.1	1.1x	3.8 to 5.2	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.6	3.4	1.06x	3 to 4.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5	4.8	1.04x	4.4 to 5.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.9	5.7	1.04x	5.2 to 6.7	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.3	6.2	1.02x	5.6 to 7.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	144.5	143.2	1.01x	140.8 to 148.3	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.4	4.4	1x	3.8 to 5.1	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	6.6	6.6	1x	5.8 to 7.4	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.6	3.7	0.97x	3 to 4.2	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.4	4.6	0.96x	3.8 to 5.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.7	14.5	0.94x	12.6 to 14.9	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	15.4	16.4	0.94x	13.2 to 18	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	410.9	453.4	0.91x	404.7 to 417.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.3	18.7	0.87x	15.1 to 17.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.7	11.3	0.86x	8.8 to 10.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.7	18.5	0.85x	14.5 to 16.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.6	13.9	0.83x	10.5 to 12.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	24.9	30.2	0.82x	23.3 to 26.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	19.3	23.8	0.81x	18 to 20.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.6	2	0.8x	1.3 to 2.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	38.4	51.8	0.74x	36.5 to 40.4	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 Kern County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,697.2	9,842.6	+9%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.2	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	57.5	59.8	-4%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.6	6.2	-10%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	98.7	96.9	+2%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	49.1	28.6	+72%	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.

Formaldehyde24.3 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde2.35 per million
Pahpom1.24 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 64 good, 65 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 70, peak 200.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

4,506 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit930
Small hazardous waste generator893
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)755
Hazardous waste transporter362
Rail grade crossing337
Gas station (mapped facility)255
Large hazardous waste generator240
Major air pollution source127
Industrial wastewater discharge101
Solar power plant80
Air permit holder (minor source)67
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)51
Wind power plant48
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)41
Gas power plant40
Large greenhouse gas emitter38
TRI reporting facility34
Public airport19
Correctional facility (prison or jail)17
EPA air quality monitor15
Brownfield property12
Commercial airport8
Landfill (mapped facility)8
Heliport6
Biomass power plant6
Hydroelectric plant5
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Battery storage plant2
Superfund (NPL) site2
Oil-fired power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Frito-Lay, Inc., Bakersfield
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $234,476.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607406 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Edwards Air Force Base, Kern County
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 33.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID CA1570024504 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Brown & Bryant, Inc. (Arvin Plant), Arvin
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 53.4. NPL Site.
EPA site ID CAD052384021 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Clean Harbors Buttonwillow Llc, Buttonwillow
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Aluminum oxide (fibrous forms), Asbestos (friable), Ethylene glycol, Copper And Copper Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 46,249,890 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93206SFTYK2500W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Clean Harbors Buttonwillow, Llc, Buttonwillow
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $637,250.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000500912 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.8
Kern Energy, Bakersfield
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $4,903,920.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000481611 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
Alon Bakersfield Property Inc A1&2 -- Calif., Bakersfield
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $85,526.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017887330 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
San Joaquin Refining Co Inc, Bakersfield
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $409,720.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000481684 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.5
Bakersfield-Golden / M St, Bakersfield
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 060290010 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 9.2
Containment Solutions Inc, Bakersfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 403,970 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93308WNSCR2600P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Bakersfield-Airport (Planz), Bakersfield
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 060290016 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 8.7
Us Dod Usaf Edwards Afb Ca, Edwards
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 321,262 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93524RFRCF1SROS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Prc-De Soto International Inc, Mojave
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000481853 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.6
Nusil Technology Llc, Bakersfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002925229 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.6
Containment Solutions Inc, Bakersfield
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $30,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009554801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.1
Tehachapi Cement Llc, Tehachapi
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Mercury And Mercury Compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 41,619 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93561CLVRS13573 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Tricor Refining, Llc, Bakersfield
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $95,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017407153 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Calportland Co Mojave Plant, Mojave
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Mercury compounds and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 33,059 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93502CLFRN9350O (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Kern Energy, Bakersfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Toluene, n-Hexane, Ethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 29,970 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93307KRNLRRR677 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Bakersfield-California, Bakersfield
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 060290014 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 7.9
U.S. Air Force Base Edwards Afb Ca, Edwards
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000908466 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.8
Ennis-Flint Bakersfield, Bakersfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Vinyl acetate. Reports carcinogens. 18,640 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93304NNSPN22NDS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Nusil Technology Llc, Bakersfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, Chlorobenzene. Reports carcinogens. 17,335 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93308SLXNS2343P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Baker Petrolite, Bakersfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 15,440 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93308BKRPT5135B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
San Joaquin Refining Co Inc, Bakersfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Naphthalene, Polycyclic aromatic compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 15,275 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93308SNJQN3542S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7

Correctional facilities

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

Kern Valley State Prison
EPA FRS registry ID
110047940387
Water system
CA1510802
Health-based violations
21 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
25
Contaminants cited
Arsenic
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
California Correctional Institution, Tehachapi
EPA FRS registry ID
110014022477
Water system
CA1510800
Health-based violations
6 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
11
Contaminants cited
Coliform (TCR), Lead and Copper Rule
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report
Wasco State Prison Reception Ctr, Wasco
EPA FRS registry ID
110013133910
Water system
CA1510801
Health-based violations
2 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
3
Contaminants cited
Coliform (TCR)
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
North Kern State Prison Phase Ii, Delano
EPA FRS registry ID
110002426376
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Taft Correctional Institution, Taft
EPA FRS registry ID
110065657355
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Wasco State Prison Wwtf, Sacramento
EPA FRS registry ID
110069996470
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report
Taft Federal Prison Wwtf, Bakersfield
EPA FRS registry ID
110070000235
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report
Mesa Verde Detention Facility, Bakersfield
EPA FRS registry ID
110070417348
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
West Kern Water District/Federal Bureau Of Prisons, Taft
EPA FRS registry ID
110070451210
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Kern Valley State Prison, Delano
EPA FRS registry ID
110070457863
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Pecoraro / North Kern Prison, Delano
EPA FRS registry ID
110070660696
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Taft Modified Community Correctional Facility, Taft
EPA FRS registry ID
110070732157
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Tehachapi Correctional Facility, Tehachapi
EPA FRS registry ID
110071115328
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Westside Healthcare District Dba Westside Correctional Healthcare, Taft
EPA FRS registry ID
110071738656
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Lerdo Detention Facility/Pre-Trial Facility Kern County Sheriff'S Office, Bakersfield
EPA FRS registry ID
110072067141
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
California Correctional Institution, Tehachapi
EPA FRS registry ID
xaa81890306f393fab866ef0a415c8a6c
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report
Cci California Correctional Institution, Tehachapi
EPA FRS registry ID
xe067157c0443ae2b1b99837fb3414488
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Kern County

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