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Mendocino County, California: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Mendocino County is 148.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Non-Hodgkin lymphoma deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate and Leukemia deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 700 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (198), Rail grade crossing (142), Small hazardous waste generator (135). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 39.3832, -123.4393.

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 Mendocino County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7	4.8	1.46xSignificant	5.2 to 9.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	8.3	5.7	1.46xSignificant	6.2 to 10.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.4	3.4	1.29x	3 to 6.4	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5.1	4.1	1.24x	3.5 to 7.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.9	14.5	1.23xSignificant	14.7 to 21.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.6	4.6	1.22x	4 to 7.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.3	23.8	1.19xSignificant	24 to 33.1	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.8	13	1.06x	10.4 to 17.9	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.9	3.7	1.05x	2.6 to 5.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	148.2	143.2	1.03x	139.1 to 157.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11.6	11.3	1.03x	9.2 to 14.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.8	8.7	1.01x	6.7 to 11.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.8	13.9	0.99x	11.1 to 16.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.4	6.6	0.97x	4.7 to 8.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.7	18.5	0.96x	14.6 to 21.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.8	18.7	0.95x	14.8 to 21.3	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.1	4.4	0.93x	2.6 to 6.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	421.1	453.4	0.93x	404.9 to 437.8	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.5	2.7	0.93x	1.4 to 4.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	27.2	30.2	0.9x	23.5 to 31.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	41.3	51.8	0.8x	36.7 to 46.4	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	4.9	6.2	0.79x	3.2 to 7.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	13.6	17.9	0.76x	10.8 to 17	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	4.8	6.6	0.73x	3.1 to 7	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 Mendocino County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,092.9	9,842.6	+3%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.8	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	52.6	59.8	-12%	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	136.6	96.9	+41%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	67	28.6	+134%	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.

Formaldehyde16.44 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde2.36 per million
Naphthalene1.48 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 269 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 38, peak 81.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit198
Rail grade crossing142
Small hazardous waste generator135
Gas station (mapped facility)54
Industrial wastewater discharge49
Large hazardous waste generator26
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)24
Hazardous waste transporter24
Brownfield property8
Public airport6
EPA air quality monitor5
Air permit holder (minor source)5
Scrapyard (mapped facility)5
Heliport4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Commercial airport2
Hydroelectric plant2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Coast Wood Preserving, Ukiah
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 44.7. NPL Site.
EPA site ID CAD063015887 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Willits Water Quality Control Plant, Willits
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000520865 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
City Of Ukiah Wastewater Treatment Plant, Ukiah
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000515229 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Ukiah-Library, Ukiah
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 060450006 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.5
Willits-Blosser Lane, Willits
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 060452003 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.4
Fort Bragg Wwtf, Fort Bragg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055984074 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Maverick Enterprises Inc, Ukiah
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056373614 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Mendocino Forest Products, Ukiah
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064125682 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Bus Garage, Fort Bragg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070087223 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tali Pak Lumber Services, Hopland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070087227 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Laytonville Rock Quarry, Laytonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070092279 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hopland Band Of Pomo Indians, Hopland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022287942 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Cooley Ranch, Geyserville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070091271 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Covelo Wwtp, Covelo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010059630 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Solid Waste System Inc, Ukiah
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038816500 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Anchor Bay Wwtf, Anchor Bay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055984136 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Vintage Wine Estates, Hopland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070094351 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Ukiah, City Of, Ukiah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015334495 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hopland Band Of Pomo Indians, Hopland
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022287942 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Pinoleville Rancheria Site, Ukiah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039057926 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
2001 Tribal Well, Hopland
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045009548 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Town Creek Sump Sites, Covelo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045009860 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Stage Road Burn Dump, Gualala
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071969881 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Covelo, Ca - 26300 Mendocino Pass Rd., Covelo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972133 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ukiah - Leslie St., Ukiah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978920 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3

Correctional facilities

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

Mendocino Sb844 Jail Project, Ukiah
EPA FRS registry ID
x95c2328d27d7fef50b4534bb86157ed4
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Mendocino 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 Mendocino 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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