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Alamosa County, Colorado: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Alamosa County is 132.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 170 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (40), Air permit holder (minor source) (27), Industrial wastewater discharge (26). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 10 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: 37.5507, -105.7757.

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 Alamosa County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.9	18.5	1.18x	13.2 to 34.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	132.1	143.2	0.92x	109.2 to 158.5	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	407.1	453.4	0.9x	365.2 to 452.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	26.3	30.2	0.87x	17 to 39.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	32	51.8	0.62x	21.5 to 46.1	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 Alamosa County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,905.1	9,842.6	+31%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	88.2	59.8	+48%	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	138.6	96.9	+43%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	58.8	28.6	+106%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 10 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde8.62 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.35 per million
Acetaldehyde0.65 per million
Benzene0.48 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 334 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 25, peak 76.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing40
Air permit holder (minor source)27
Industrial wastewater discharge26
NPDES wastewater discharge permit24
Gas station (mapped facility)14
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)12
Solar power plant8
Public airport4
Brownfield property3
Small hazardous waste generator3
EPA air quality monitor2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Gas power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Alta Fuels Inc., Alamosa
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Benzene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,110 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8110WTLFLS615ST (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Alta Fuels, Inc., Alamosa
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069310463 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
San Luis Valley Rgnl/Bergman Fld, Alamosa
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ALS (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Rocky Mountain Soils Inc., Alamosa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041098807 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Sangre De Cristo School District R 22-J, Mosca
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043740244 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Star Steel & Supply Co, Alamosa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046317151 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
San Luis Valley Regional Airport, Alamosa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070111269 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Regional Wwtf, Alamosa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001103332 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Mosca Wwtf, Mosca
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070218892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Public Service Co Alamosa Plt, Alamosa
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001436839 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Alamosa - Adams State, Alamosa
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 080030001 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3.4
Alamosa, Alamosa
Gas power plant.
Record ID 464 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Slv Habitat For Humanity Site, Alamosa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071966365 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Pink Elephant, Alamosa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968497 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Railroad Plaza, Alamosa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072252477 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
King Gravel Pit, Alamosa County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070063524 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Mosca Wwtf, Mosca
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit COX631079: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Colorado Mushroom Farm, Alamosa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $82,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070504511 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Southway Construction Co Inc, Alamosa
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $22,575.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009562240 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Mathias Concrete - Alamosa Plant, Alamosa
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $1,925.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070106358 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
City Of Alamosa - Murphy Lift Station, Alamosa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072220428 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Weiss Dry Cleaners
Dry cleaner (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/756392275 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Walmart Supercenter #869, Alamosa
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044937575 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Walmart Supercenter #869, Alamosa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044937575 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ups Alamosa Center, Alamosa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046297431 (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 Alamosa 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 Alamosa 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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