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Mineral County, Colorado: environmental and disease records

Federal databases place 54 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (21), Rail grade crossing (13), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (8). 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: 37.6954, -106.9198.

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 Mineral County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	388.1	453.4	0.86x	246.4 to 601.9	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 Mineral County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	n/a	9,842.6	n/a	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	n/a	75.3	n/a	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	n/a	96.9	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde6.52 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.15 per million
Acetaldehyde0.41 per million
Pahpom0.31 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge21
Rail grade crossing13
NPDES wastewater discharge permit8
Brownfield property6
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Public airport1
Gas station (mapped facility)1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock, Creede
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 48. NPL Site.
EPA site ID CON000802630 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Creede Wwtf, Creede
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009128568 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mountain Views At Rivers Edge Wwtf, Creede
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037262805 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wolf Creek Ranch Wwtf, Trussville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071320454 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Creede Airport Corner, Creede
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038741653 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Fairgrounds Property At Airport Corner, Creede
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046367793 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Willow Creek Floodplain, Creede
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071963811 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Silent Friend - Mineral County Mining Claim, Creede
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977471 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Silver King - Mineral County Mining Claim, Creede
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977474 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lower Willow Creek Floodplain, Creede
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071980853 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Wolf Creek Ski Corporation, Pagosa Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071785659 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Mountain Views At Rivers Edge Wwtf, Creede
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit COG590069: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.2
Wolf Creek Ski Corporation, Pagosa Springs
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit COG591201: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.1
Mineral County Meml, Creede
Public airport. O.
Record ID C24 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Mineral County Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/914291222 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wolf Creek Ranch Wwtf, Trussville
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit COG590136: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.6
4ur Ranch, Creede
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056989380 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
San Juan Silver Exploration Project, Uninc
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064733356 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Equity Exploration Roject, Creede
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069425893 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bulldog Mine, Creede
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072257674 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Usfs Coller W., South Fork
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 253942B (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Cr 430a-River Rd, South Fork
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 253943H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Palisade Camp E., South Fork
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 253944P (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Palisade Camp W., South Fork
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 253945W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Cottonwood Co E., Creede
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 253946D (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3

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 Mineral 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 Mineral 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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