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Kings County, California: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Kings County is 139.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 603 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (139), Rail grade crossing (108), Small hazardous waste generator (98). 3 correctional facilities operate in the county. EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 40 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: 36.1437, -119.7688.

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 Kings County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	New cases	14.1	8.7	1.62xSignificant	11.4 to 17.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	10.2	6.6	1.55xSignificant	7.9 to 12.9	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	4.1	2.7	1.52x	2.7 to 6	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	7.6	6.6	1.15x	5.6 to 9.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.7	3.4	1.09x	2.3 to 5.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.8	3.7	1.03x	2.4 to 5.5	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	13.2	13	1.02x	10.6 to 16.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18	17.9	1.01x	14.9 to 21.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.1	18.5	0.98x	15 to 21.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	139.6	143.2	0.97x	130.6 to 149	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	10.7	11.3	0.95x	8.3 to 13.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.3	30.2	0.94x	24.3 to 32.8	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.8	4.1	0.93x	2.4 to 5.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	12.6	13.9	0.91x	10.1 to 15.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.3	4.8	0.9x	2.9 to 6.2	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	14.4	16.4	0.88x	9.3 to 21.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.4	14.5	0.86x	9.9 to 15.3	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	3.9	4.6	0.85x	2.6 to 5.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	384.3	453.4	0.85x	369.5 to 399.5	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.7	4.4	0.84x	2.4 to 5.4	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.2	6.2	0.84x	3.7 to 7.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	13.4	18.7	0.72x	10.7 to 16.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	35.7	51.8	0.69x	31.1 to 40.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	3.9	5.7	0.68x	2.5 to 5.7	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	11.6	23.8	0.49x	9.2 to 14.5	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 Kings County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,187.5	9,842.6	-17%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.6	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	46	59.8	-23%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.3	6.2	-31%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	62.6	96.9	-35%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	17.9	28.6	-38%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 40 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde26.42 per million
Acetaldehyde2.97 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Pahpom1.57 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 126 good, 11 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 57, peak 133.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit139
Rail grade crossing108
Small hazardous waste generator98
Hazardous waste transporter57
Large hazardous waste generator31
Gas station (mapped facility)26
Solar power plant24
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)22
Major air pollution source15
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)11
Large greenhouse gas emitter10
TRI reporting facility10
Air permit holder (minor source)9
Public airport9
Industrial wastewater discharge8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
Biomass power plant4
Correctional facility (prison or jail)3
Heliport3
EPA air quality monitor2
Commercial airport2
Gas power plant2
Airfield1
Brownfield property1
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.

Chemical Waste Management Inc, Kettleman City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Asbestos (friable), Copper, Zinc (fume or dust), Lead and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. Reports PFAS. 21,368,901 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93239CHMCL35251 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Wm - Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Facility, Kettleman City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000481443 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.3
Prison Industry Authority-Corcoran, Corcoran
Major air pollution source. Penalties $38,336.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001186939 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Hanford-Irwin, Hanford
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 060311004 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 7.5
Corcoran-Patterson, Corcoran
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 060310004 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 7.2
Us Dod Nas Lemoore (Installation), Lemoore
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 2,565 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93246SNVYN7AVEN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Naval Air Station Lemoore, Lemoore
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000781477 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Jg Boswell Co Oil Mill, Corcoran
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane. 133,331 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93212JGBSW710BA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Calif State Prison - Avenal, Avenal
Major air pollution source. Penalties $2,627,299.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013832095 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
J.G. Boswell Company - Gin 3, Corcoran
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042051016 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Leprino Foods Co, Lemoore
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Ammonia, Peracetic acid, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 3,066 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93245LPRNF351NB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
J.G. Boswell Co - Kings Tomato, Corcoran
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 2,757 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9321WJGBSW2795D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Prison Industry Authority-Corcoran, Corcoran
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $38,336.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001186939 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Avenal Landfill, Avenal
Major air pollution source. Penalties $164,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043803630 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc., Hanford
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057050550 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Leprino Foods Co, Lemoore
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 1,525 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 91745LPRNF490FS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Airgas Specialty Products - Hanford Ca, Hanford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 1,282 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9323WRGSSP13274 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
J G Boswell Company, Corcoran
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039204884 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Naval Air Station Lemoore, Lemoore
Major air pollution source. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000781477 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Leprino Foods Co - Cheese Processing Plant, Lemoore
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012534784 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Leprino Foods Co, Lemoore
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000477868 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Airgas Specialty Products, Hanford
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070402958 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Prison Industry Authority-Corcoran, Corcoran
Hazardous waste transporter. Penalties $38,336.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001186939 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Wm - Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Facility, Kettleman City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000481443 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Naval Air Station Lemoore, Lemoore
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000781477 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8

Correctional facilities

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

Prison Industry Authority-Corcoran, Corcoran
EPA FRS registry ID
110001186939
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Calif State Prison - Avenal, Avenal
EPA FRS registry ID
110013832095
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Corcoran State Prison, Corcoran
EPA FRS registry ID
110070003474
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Kings 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 Kings 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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