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Nevada County, California: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Nevada County is 130.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 496 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (211), Small hazardous waste generator (88), Brownfield property (43). 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: 39.2654, -121.0096.

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 Nevada County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	45.4	23.8	1.91xSignificant	40.5 to 50.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3.4	2	1.7xSignificant	2.2 to 5.1	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.6	6.2	1.23x	5.4 to 10.4	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.2	3.7	1.14x	3 to 6	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.4	4.1	1.07x	3.2 to 6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5	4.8	1.04x	3.7 to 6.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.9	5.7	1.04x	4.4 to 7.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.1	18.5	1.03x	16.1 to 22.5	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.5	4.4	1.02x	3.2 to 6.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.5	4.6	0.98x	3.2 to 6.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.9	11.3	0.96x	8.8 to 13.4	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	12.5	13	0.96x	9.5 to 16.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.2	18.7	0.92x	14.6 to 20.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	130.5	143.2	0.91x	123.1 to 138.4	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	411.7	453.4	0.91x	397.2 to 426.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.7	14.5	0.88x	10.2 to 15.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.4	13.9	0.82x	9.4 to 13.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	2.7	3.4	0.79x	1.8 to 4.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.5	8.7	0.75x	4.9 to 8.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	21	30.2	0.7x	18.3 to 24.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	35.9	51.8	0.69x	32.2 to 40	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	4.2	6.6	0.64x	3 to 5.8	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	4.1	6.6	0.62x	2.8 to 5.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	9.3	17.9	0.52x	7.2 to 11.8	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 Nevada County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,472.2	9,842.6	-24%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	80	75.3	+6%	years
Child mortality	50.7	59.8	-15%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.1	6.2	-34%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	94.1	96.9	-3%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	37.3	28.6	+31%	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.

Formaldehyde29.35 per million
Acetaldehyde3.17 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.7 per million
Pahpom1.39 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 362 days: 289 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 42, peak 108.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit211
Small hazardous waste generator88
Brownfield property43
Industrial wastewater discharge38
Gas station (mapped facility)33
Large hazardous waste generator16
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)14
Hazardous waste transporter14
Rail grade crossing10
Hydroelectric plant9
Public airport3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
EPA air quality monitor2
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Commercial airport2
Heliport2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

Lava Cap Mine, Nevada City
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 33.7. NPL Site.
EPA site ID CAD983618893 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Grass Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant, Grass Valley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000520696 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Lake Wildwood Wwtp, Penn Valley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $15,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000520945 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Lake Of The Pines Wwtp, Auburn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070833198 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Martis Valley Plant, Truckee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 96161MRTSR13879 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Donner Summit Wwtf, Soda Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $36,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011373628 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Cascade Shores Wwtp, Nevada City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055797437 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Wm Of Nevada County, Grass Valley
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070088832 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Wm Of Nevada County, Grass Valley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070088832 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
East Bennett Road Chipping Facility, Grass Valley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070712891 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Nevada City Wastewater Treatment Plant, Nevada City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000519920 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Grass Valley-Litton Building, Grass Valley
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 060570005 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3.3
Idaho Maryland Mine, Grass Valley
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030434260 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hirshman'S Pond, Nevada City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038722549 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Woods Ravine, Nevada City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038722567 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Pioneer Park, Nevada City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038722585 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Water Treatment Plant, Grass Valley
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110066283603 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Providence Mine- Mine Features Area, Nevada City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967302 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Nevada City Quartz Mill, Nevada City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967327 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Providence Mine-Waste Rock Area, Nevada City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071969308 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Roundhole Parcel, Grass Valley
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972247 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sierra Terrace, Grass Valley
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972255 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bitton, Grass Valley
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972256 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Nevada City Airport, Nevada City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972257 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
530 Freeman Lane, Grass Valley
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973244 (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.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Nevada 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 Nevada 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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