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Adams County, Colorado: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Adams County is 133.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 3,886 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (1,088), Air permit holder (minor source) (1,015), Industrial wastewater discharge (974). One correctional facility operates 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: 39.8713, -104.1627.

How this county ranks in Colorado

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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 Adams County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10.6	8.7	1.22xSignificant	9.3 to 12	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.4	2	1.2x	1.7 to 3.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.5	6.6	1.14x	6.4 to 8.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.2	4.8	1.08x	4.2 to 6.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.4	4.4	1x	3.6 to 5.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.4	3.4	1x	2.7 to 4.3	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	13	13	1x	11.6 to 14.5	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4	4.1	0.98x	3.2 to 5	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	6.4	6.6	0.97x	5.3 to 7.5	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.8	6.2	0.94x	4.9 to 6.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	133.8	143.2	0.93x	129 to 138.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.7	17.9	0.93x	15.1 to 18.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.4	18.7	0.93x	15.7 to 19.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.4	14.5	0.92x	11.9 to 15	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.2	5.7	0.91x	4.3 to 6.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	408.7	453.4	0.9x	400.5 to 417.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.6	18.5	0.9x	14.9 to 18.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.4	13.9	0.89x	11 to 14	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	14.2	16.4	0.87x	11.2 to 17.7	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.3	2.7	0.85x	1.7 to 3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	44.1	51.8	0.85x	41.4 to 47	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.5	11.3	0.84x	8.3 to 10.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	3.8	4.6	0.83x	3 to 4.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	24.1	30.2	0.8x	22.1 to 26.3	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.1	23.8	0.76x	16.4 to 19.9	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	2.8	3.7	0.76x	2.2 to 3.6	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 Adams County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,283.5	9,842.6	-16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.9	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	55	59.8	-8%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.7	6.2	-8%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	90.7	96.9	-6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	34.8	28.6	+22%	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.

Formaldehyde19.98 per million
Naphthalene4.61 per million
Benzene2.93 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.51 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 201 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 49, peak 112.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

3,886 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit1,088
Air permit holder (minor source)1,015
Industrial wastewater discharge974
Gas station (mapped facility)174
Rail grade crossing154
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)83
Small hazardous waste generator78
Brownfield property64
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)56
TRI reporting facility48
Major air pollution source31
Large hazardous waste generator31
Solar power plant16
Hazardous waste transporter11
Public airport10
Scrapyard (mapped facility)9
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)8
Large greenhouse gas emitter8
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)6
Heliport5
Landfill (mapped facility)5
EPA air quality monitor3
Gas power plant3
Superfund (NPL) site2
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Biomass power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Suncor Commerce City Refinery - East Plant, Commerce City
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $2,305,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032913024 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Rocky Mountain Arsenal (USARMY), Adams County
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 58.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID CO5210020769 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Broderick Wood Products, Denver
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 35.1. NPL Site.
EPA site ID COD000110254 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Clean Harbors Deer Trail Llc., Deer Trail
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Selenium And Selenium Compounds, Ethylene glycol, Lead And Lead Compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,185,327 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80105SFTYK10855 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.7
Central Products Company, Brighton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000467511 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9
Suncor Energy Commerce City Refinery, Commerce City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen cyanide, Propylene, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), n-Hexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 462,793 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80022CNCDN5801B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Zimmerman Metals Inc, Denver
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $6,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002461522 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.8
Basf Contruction Chemicals, Brighton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000522694 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.7
Elkay Wood Products Co, Aurora
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Toluene, Ethylbenzene, n-Butyl alcohol and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 220,934 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80019MSTRC23655 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Univar Solutions-Denver West, Denver
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, N,N-Dimethylformamide, Ethylene glycol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 59,295 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80216SHLND156W5 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Burnco Colorado - Henderson Plant, Henderson
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $5,250.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069246863 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Sika Mbcc Us Llc, Brighton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Diisocyanates, Toluene-2,4-diisocyanate, Toluene-2,6-diisocyanate and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 24,518 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80201CHMRX10601 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Industrial Chemicals Corp, Arvada
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, n-Hexane, Toluene, Acetonitrile and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 19,932 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80002NDLCH4711W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Phillips 66 Co Denver Terminal, Commerce City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers), Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 18,486 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80022PHLLP3960E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
E J Painting & Fiberglass, Brighton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 14,701 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8060WJPNTN121E1 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Sinclair Denver Products Terminal, Henderson
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers), Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 11,019 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80640SNCLR8581E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Wattenberg Gas Plant/ Anadarko Dj Gas Processing Llc, Aurora
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Benzene, Methanol, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 9,694 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8001WWTTNB199PW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Veolia Es Technical Solutions Llc, Henderson
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Acetonitrile, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Methanol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 8,896 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80640NYXNV9131E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Azz Galvanizing -Denver, Commerce City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 8,204 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80022BYLSG4400E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Insulfoam Llc, Aurora
Major air pollution source. Penalties $21,525.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001744015 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Suncor Commerce City Refinery - East Plant, Commerce City
Major air pollution source. Penalties $2,305,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032913024 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Diversey Corp, Henderson
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Lead, Peracetic acid, Mixture. Reports carcinogens. 3,510 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80030BRKCR6815G (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Intertape Polymer Group Brighton Facility, Brighton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene. 189,804 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80601LLTCC1095S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Koppers Inc (Denver Co), Denver
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Creosote, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 2,094 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80216KPPRS5601F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Advancedpcb, Aurora
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Lead, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 2,000 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80011JHNHH21100 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7

Correctional facilities

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

Correctional Products & Svcs, Westminster
EPA FRS registry ID
110001724224
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Adams County

Colorado 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 Adams County, and their findings.
Colorado vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Colorado health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Colorado 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.
Colorado 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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