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Custer County, Colorado: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Custer County is 116.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 75 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (35), Air permit holder (minor source) (18), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (11). 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: 38.077, -105.3441.

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 Custer County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	116.2	143.2	0.81x	84.9 to 158.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	339.2	453.4	0.75x	277.7 to 412.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	24.1	51.8	0.47x	13.8 to 47.6	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 Custer County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,054.7	9,842.6	-18%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.2	75.3	+5%	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	125.1	96.9	+29%	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.

Formaldehyde7.13 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.26 per million
Acetaldehyde0.41 per million
Pahpom0.34 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge35
Air permit holder (minor source)18
NPDES wastewater discharge permit11
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Public airport2
Rail grade crossing2
Landfill (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.

Round Mountain Water And Sanitation District, Westcliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006781385 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Custer County Landfill, Westcliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056140493 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Hardship Lode, Westcliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070072824 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Kagan And Son South Pit, Westcliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070072827 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Geroux Gravel Pit, Westcliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070072864 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Silver Cliff Pit, Silver Cliff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070072868 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Custer County Landfill, Westcliffe
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110056140493 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Horn Creek Conference Grounds, Westcliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070687643 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Horn Creek Conference Grounds, Westcliffe
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit COX634035: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Westcliffe Meats, Westcliffe Area
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $21,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071498723 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Silver West, Westcliffe
Public airport. O.
Record ID C08 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Custer County Recycles Center
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/845387834 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Boyer Gravel Pit, Westcliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070072802 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Black Obsidian, Westcliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071295233 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Westcliffe Improvements Ph Ii, Westcliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071825028 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Structure L-16-Ae Emergency Bridge Replacement Sh165 Aspen Acres Fire, Beulah
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072254851 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mcdnl Blvd Cr450b, Canon City
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 003671J (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1
Frgcr440bnval, Canon City
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 003672R (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1
Jerald Seifert & Michael Coleman, Westcliffe
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110010340498 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Custer County Road & Bridge - South Pit, Westcliffe
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110010382978 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Custer County Road & Bridge (Coleman Scr, 6 Mi Se Of Westcliffe
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110010383183 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Seifert Enterprises - Schoolfield Pit, Silver Cliff
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110012150894 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Seifert Construction - Boyer Pit, Wetmore
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110017378595 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Colorado Quarries Inc - Gray Granite, Westcliffe
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110017690612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Colorado Quarries Inc - Black Obsidian, Silver Cliff
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110021082406 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1

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 Custer 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 Custer 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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