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Elbert County, Colorado: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Elbert County is 106.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 291 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (115), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (80), Air permit holder (minor source) (42). 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: 39.1979, -104.1889.

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 Elbert County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	New cases	17.7	14.5	1.22x	11.6 to 26	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25.8	23.8	1.08x	18.5 to 35.3	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.7	13	1.05x	7.8 to 22.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.1	18.7	1.02x	13.2 to 27.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.8	18.5	0.96x	11.5 to 26.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	394.7	453.4	0.87x	364.2 to 427.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	106.1	143.2	0.74x	90.5 to 123.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	37.1	51.8	0.72x	28.4 to 48	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	9.7	13.9	0.7x	5.5 to 16.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	12.2	17.9	0.68x	7.5 to 19.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	19.9	30.2	0.66x	13.4 to 28.5	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 Elbert County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,353.7	9,842.6	-35%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	80.7	75.3	+7%	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	76.9	96.9	-21%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	25.5	28.6	-11%	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.

Formaldehyde11.03 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.43 per million
Acetaldehyde0.9 per million
Naphthalene0.86 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge115
NPDES wastewater discharge permit80
Air permit holder (minor source)42
Public airport17
Rail grade crossing12
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Heliport5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Small hazardous waste generator1
Wind power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Inliner Solutions Llc, Kiowa
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 5,440 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8011WLYNNL7915C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Layne Inliner Llc, Kiowa
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056511467 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Ramah Town Of, Ramah
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010671763 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Dawson Mine, Kiowa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070054669 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Bijou Mine, Kiowa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070072764 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Beveal Gravel Pit, Kiowa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070500504 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Patty'S Pit, Elbert County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070518289 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Kiowa Water And Wastewater Authority-Chlorinator For Upper East Well, Kiowa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010053887 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Simla Wwtf, Simla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010055741 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Elbert Water & Sanitation Dist Wwtf, Elbert County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027854999 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Gold Creek Wwtf, Elizabeth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071862705 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Burnco Colorado Llc - Kiowa, Kiowa
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds.
TRI facility ID 8054WBRNCX875AL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Gold Creek Wwtf, Elizabeth
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit COG591037: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Kiowa Wwtf, Elbert County
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit CO0033405: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Singing Hills Elementary School, Douglas County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036462832 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Independence Water Resource Recovery Facility, Elizabeth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070868718 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Gmt Exploration Company - Vulcan Pad, Elizabeth Area
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $48,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071369166 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Ec West Wrrf, Kiowa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072084738 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Denver Expansion Project, Deer Trail
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072160626 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Kiowa Concrete Plant, Kiowa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071253474 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Layne Inliner Llc, Kiowa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056511467 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Gold Creek Wwtp, Elizabeth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010055705 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Walmart Supercenter #4639, Elizabeth
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039571326 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Deb Mine, Elizabeth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067234709 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dwr Mine, Elizabeth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067238215 (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 Elbert 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 Elbert 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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