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San Luis Obispo County, California: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in San Luis Obispo County is 130.8 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 1.6 times the U.S. rate and Brain & nervous system deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,553 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (680), Small hazardous waste generator (267), Industrial wastewater discharge (115). 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: 35.3462, -120.3357.

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 San Luis Obispo 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	60.2	23.8	2.53xSignificant	56.5 to 64	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3.2	2	1.6xSignificant	2.4 to 4.1	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.8	4.4	1.32xSignificant	4.6 to 7.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.9	4.8	1.23xSignificant	4.9 to 7.1	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	4.1	3.7	1.11x	3.3 to 5.1	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.7	6.2	1.08x	5.5 to 8.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6	5.7	1.05x	5 to 7.3	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.3	4.1	1.05x	3.5 to 5.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.9	18.5	1.02x	16.9 to 21	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	458.2	453.4	1.01x	448.3 to 468.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.1	11.3	0.98x	9.7 to 12.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.3	3.4	0.97x	2.6 to 4.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	14	14.5	0.97x	12.2 to 15.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.4	13.9	0.96x	11.9 to 15.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18	18.7	0.96x	16.2 to 19.9	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	15.6	16.4	0.95x	10.6 to 22.1	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.1	6.6	0.92x	5 to 7.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8	8.7	0.92x	6.7 to 9.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	130.8	143.2	0.91x	125.8 to 136	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.2	4.6	0.91x	3.3 to 5.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16	17.9	0.89x	14.2 to 18	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5	6.6	0.76x	4.1 to 6.2	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	9.5	13	0.73x	7.9 to 11.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	20.3	30.2	0.67x	18.5 to 22.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	33.9	51.8	0.65x	31.4 to 36.5	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	1.6	2.7	0.59x	1.1 to 2.3	2020-2024

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 San Luis Obispo County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,205.6	9,842.6	-37%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	80.7	75.3	+7%	years
Child mortality	29	59.8	-52%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	3.4	6.2	-46%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	72.5	96.9	-25%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	34.5	28.6	+20%	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.

Formaldehyde21.16 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde2.33 per million
Naphthalene1.55 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 191 good, 7 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 50, peak 119.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,553 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit680
Small hazardous waste generator267
Industrial wastewater discharge115
Gas station (mapped facility)92
Large hazardous waste generator71
Rail grade crossing67
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)62
Hazardous waste transporter57
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)37
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)16
Air permit holder (minor source)12
TRI reporting facility12
EPA air quality monitor10
Public airport10
Solar power plant9
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)7
Major air pollution source5
Large greenhouse gas emitter5
Landfill (mapped facility)5
Heliport3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Commercial airport2
Brownfield property1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Biomass power plant1
Gas power plant1
Nuclear power plant1
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.

Klau/Buena Vista Mine, Paso Robles
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID CA1141190578 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
U.S. Army National Guard Camp Roberts Ranges, Camp Roberts
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 86,677 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93451SRMYCHWY11 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
U.S. Army National Guard Camp San Luis Obispo Ranges, San Luis Obispo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 30,550 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93405SRMYC1SNMA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Phillips 66 Co-Santa Maria Refinery, Arroyo Grande
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen sulfide, Ethylene, Toluene, Propylene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 27,704 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93420NCLSN2555W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Promega Corp, San Luis Obispo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dichloromethane, Methanol, Acetonitrile. Reports carcinogens. 9,421 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93401JBLSC277GR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Santa Maria Facility, Arroyo Grande
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000481755 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
San Luis Obispo Wwtp, San Luis Obispo
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $69,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000736302 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
San Luis Obispo Wwtp, San Luis Obispo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $69,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000736302 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
California Mens Colony, San Luis Obispo
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $1,588,605.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008268365 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
California Mens Colony, San Luis Obispo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,588,605.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008268365 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
City Of Paso Robles Wastewater Treatment Facility, Paso Robles
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $18,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013903990 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
City Of El Paso De Robles Landfill, Paso Robles
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041090262 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Santa Maria Facility, Arroyo Grande
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000481755 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
U.S. Army National Guard Camp San Luis Obispo Ranges, San Luis Obispo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037148020 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Coast Southwest Surfactants Llc, Paso Robles
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diethanolamine, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Methanol and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 30 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93447CHMRN125PR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Camp Roberts Training Site, Camp Roberts
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018999878 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Joslyn Sunbank Co Llc, Paso Robles
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nickel compounds, Nickel And Nickel Compounds. Reports carcinogens. 25 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 93446SNBNK1740C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Santa Maria Facility, Arroyo Grande
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000481755 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Heritage Ranch Csd, Paso Robles
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $24,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006783800 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Promega Biosciences, San Luis Obispo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000481746 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Diablo Canyon, Avila Beach
Nuclear power plant.
Record ID 6099 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 5
San Luis Obispo County Rgnl, San Luis Obispo
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID SBP (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Mesa2, Nipomo
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 060792004 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.9
South San Luis Obispo Sd Wwtp, Oceano
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000730629 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Pismo Beach Wwtf, Pismo Beach
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055984500 (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.

Wellpath San Luis Obispo County Jail, San Luis Obispo
EPA FRS registry ID
110071137552
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo 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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