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Clear Creek County, Colorado: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Clear Creek County is 94.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 212 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (87), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (60), Air permit holder (minor source) (25). 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: 39.709, -105.66.

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 Clear Creek 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	28.9	23.8	1.21x	17.1 to 47.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	329.3	453.4	0.73x	286 to 378.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	36.3	51.8	0.7x	23.7 to 55.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	94.5	143.2	0.66x	71.3 to 124.2	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 Clear Creek County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	4,820.2	9,842.6	-51%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	83.6	75.3	+11%	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	96.5	96.9	-1%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde8.82 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.21 per million
Naphthalene0.81 per million
Acetaldehyde0.72 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 315 days: 214 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 48, peak 100.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge87
NPDES wastewater discharge permit60
Air permit holder (minor source)25
Gas station (mapped facility)14
Brownfield property4
Heliport4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
EPA air quality monitor2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Hydroelectric plant1
Pumped storage plant1
Rail grade crossing1
Superfund (NPL) site1
TRI reporting facility1
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.

Central City, Clear Creek, Idaho Springs
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 51.4. NPL Site.
EPA site ID COD980717557 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Climax Molybdenum Co-Henderson Mine, Empire
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Zinc compounds, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) and 3 more. 7,888,613 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 80438CLMXM9MILE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Climax Molybdenum Henderson Mine, Empire
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005997591 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Urad Mine, Empire
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064623073 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Elam Clear Creek Batch Plant, Idaho Springs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 2 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8045WLMCLR142FR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
St. Marys Glacier Wsd, Idaho Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006781438 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Albert Frei & Sons Inc, Idaho Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007239880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Clear Creek Readymix, Idaho Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054098828 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
John P. Downs Wtf, Evergreen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054136467 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Hukill Gulch Millsite, Idaho Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069416625 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Albert Frei & Sons Inc, Idaho Springs
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110007239880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Indian Hot Springs Spa And Lodge, Idaho Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069336418 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Clear Creek School District Transportation And Maintenance Facility, Idaho Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $60,075.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071427708 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Loveland Ski Area Wwtf, Georgetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009128363 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Central Clear Creek San Dist Wwtf, Dumont
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070045395 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Bellview Hudson Mine, Idaho Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038716173 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
White Water, Dumont
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061000214 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Empire West, Empire
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967265 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Carlson Elementary School Replacement (Building 103), Idaho Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985693 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Georgetown Wwtp, Georgetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017709425 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Empire Town Of, Empire
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071866614 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Urad Mine, Empire
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit CO0041467: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
Idaho Springs City Of, Idaho Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006781205 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Shwayder Camp Wwtf, Idaho Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037269915 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Bighorn Crossing Subdiv, Georgetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071224027 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5

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 Clear Creek 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 Clear Creek 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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