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Sierra County, California: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Sierra County is 104.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 52 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (21), Small hazardous waste generator (6), Industrial wastewater discharge (5). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 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: 39.5774, -120.5114.

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 Sierra County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	104.1	143.2	0.73x	70.4 to 155.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	300.6	453.4	0.66x	234 to 384.4	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 Sierra County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	4,389.3	9,842.6	-55%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	81.3	75.3	+8%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	n/a	6.2	n/a	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	90.8	96.9	-6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde17.27 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.5 per million
Acetaldehyde2 per million
Pahpom1.26 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit21
Small hazardous waste generator6
Industrial wastewater discharge5
Rail grade crossing4
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Large hazardous waste generator3
Brownfield property2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Hydroelectric plant2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Biomass power plant1
Wastewater plant (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.

Original Sixteen To One Mine, Alleghany
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $261,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010058427 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Sierra Pacific Industries, Loyalton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008264662 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Hayes Property, Sierra City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042241259 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Smailes Property, Sierra City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042241277 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Caltrans District 03, Sierraville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008278648 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Pacific Bell, Loyalton
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008291678 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Pacific Bell, Sierraville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008293186 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Sierra Pacific Loyalton Facility, Loyalton
Biomass power plant.
Record ID 50111 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 2.5
Sierraville Dearwater, Sierraville
Public airport. O.
Record ID O79 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/93195397 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Sierra Pacific Industries, Loyalton
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008264662 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Caltrans - Downieville Maintenance, Downieville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008278611 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pacific Bell, Downieville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008292007 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dohs Sierra County, Loyalton
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009535583 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Fmr Smithneck Country Store, Loyalton
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018886945 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Klondike And Dutch Tunnel Mines, Downieville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110066308187 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Loyalton Landfill, Loyalton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070090307 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Telegraph Dutch Mines, Downieville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070090585 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dickey Driveway, Sierra City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070091232 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Loyalton Cogeneration Plant, Loyalton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070201760 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Colombo Mine, Sierra City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070499822 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Telegraph Mine, Downieville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070830519 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sixteen To One Mine, Alleghany
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071292142 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
2h01u4 Stateline Rockfall Drapery, Chilcoot
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID x1d5eeed15f100fc2453895e68a8e63ef (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lacey Meadows, Sierraville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID x241be3020bde883e81cb0aba5b799690 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Sierra 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 Sierra 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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