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Huerfano County, Colorado: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Huerfano County is 182.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 170 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (42), Industrial wastewater discharge (38), Air permit holder (minor source) (32). 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: 37.654, -104.906.

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 Huerfano County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	182.6	143.2	1.28xSignificant	147.8 to 225.2	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	22	18.7	1.18x	11.4 to 41.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	360.4	453.4	0.79x	308.2 to 420.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	23.6	30.2	0.78x	13.1 to 42.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	37	51.8	0.71x	23.3 to 59.3	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 Huerfano County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,473.4	9,842.6	+47%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.5	75.3	-4%	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	161.5	96.9	+67%	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.

Formaldehyde8.11 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.38 per million
Acetaldehyde0.48 per million
Pahpom0.37 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

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 crossing42
Industrial wastewater discharge38
Air permit holder (minor source)32
NPDES wastewater discharge permit22
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Public airport8
Brownfield property8
Wind power plant4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2

Highest-severity records

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

Walsenburg City Of, Walsenburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $29,062.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006781474 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Cuchara Valley At La Veta, La Veta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046330662 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Leone Huerfano Gravel Pit, Walsenburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070063580 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Southway Construction Co Pitt, Huerfano County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070063585 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Orlando Pit, Gardner
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070072792 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Morgan Pit, La Veta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070072830 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Orphan View Gravel Pit, Huerfano County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070072883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Gardner Wastewater Treatment Facility, Gardner
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063016276 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Cucharas Swd, La Veta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039689995 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Walsenburg Care Center, Walsenburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968549 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Dry Cleaner, Walsenburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973856 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Biofuel Terminal, Walsenburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973857 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lathrop Youth Camp, Walsenburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973858 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Rio Cucharas Inn, Walsenburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973859 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Gardner Site, Gardner
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973865 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
La Veta School House, La Veta
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072077750 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Grocery, Walsenburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072154709 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
La Veta Town Of, La Veta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010053869 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Tres Valles West Water Treatment Facility, La Veta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071962884 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Walsenburg Rmc Plant, Walsenburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071669274 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
La Veta Town Of, Huerfano County
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit CO0032409: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.2
Water Treatment Plant, Walsenburg
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit COG641099: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.2
Gardner Wastewater Treatment Facility, Gardner
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit COG588134: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.1
Cuchara Valley At La Veta, La Veta
Public airport. O.
Record ID 07V (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Spanish Peaks Airfield, Walsenburg
Public airport. O.
Record ID 4V1 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2

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 Huerfano 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 Huerfano 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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