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Montezuma County, Colorado: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Montezuma County is 137.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 287 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Brownfield property (69), Industrial wastewater discharge (69), Air permit holder (minor source) (56). 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: 37.319, -108.6288.

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 Montezuma 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	25.3	23.8	1.06x	18.1 to 34.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	137.4	143.2	0.96x	121.7 to 155	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	23.5	30.2	0.78x	17.4 to 31.5	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	352.2	453.4	0.78x	325.2 to 381.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.1	18.7	0.75x	9.4 to 20.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	13.4	17.9	0.75x	8.4 to 20.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	9.5	13.9	0.68x	5.4 to 15.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	9.9	14.5	0.68x	5.9 to 16.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	34.4	51.8	0.66x	26.8 to 43.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	7.1	11.3	0.63x	4.1 to 12.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	10.9	18.5	0.59x	6.9 to 17.1	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 Montezuma County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,917.4	9,842.6	+31%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.3	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	65.6	59.8	+10%	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	132.4	96.9	+37%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	35.4	28.6	+24%	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.

Formaldehyde9.56 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.39 per million
Acetaldehyde0.65 per million
Pahpom0.37 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 274 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 45, peak 101.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Brownfield property69
Industrial wastewater discharge69
Air permit holder (minor source)56
NPDES wastewater discharge permit50
Gas station (mapped facility)18
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)6
EPA air quality monitor3
Heliport3
Small hazardous waste generator2
Hydroelectric plant2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1

Highest-severity records

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

Clm Composting, Mancos
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $7,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054111322 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Messer Llc, Cortez
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002446363 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Cortez Municipal Airport, Cortez
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018871121 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fast Eddies/All Auto Parts, Cortez
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043653588 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Susg Cortez Redi-Mix Batch Plant, Cortez
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046291507 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Southwest Colorado Community College Wwtf, Mancos
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054949605 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Line Camp Pit, Dolores
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006782473 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Montezuma County Landfill, Cortez
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013942582 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Lakeside Wwtf, Cortez
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071847356 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Vista Verde Village, Montezuma County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020730725 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Mancos Rural Wtp, Montezuma County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024581996 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Towaoc Dining Hall, Towaoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038745258 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Mancos Library, Mancos
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038754826 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Motor Pool Maintenance Facility, Towaoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041720340 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Arthur Cuthair House, Towaoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965042 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ah 2280, Towaoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965043 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Aw 542, Towaoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965044 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Br 518, Towaoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965045 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bw 326, Towaoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965046 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ck 234, Towaoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965047 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cu 613, Towaoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965298 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cw 329, Towaoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965299 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cw 338, Towaoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965300 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Dk 141, Towaoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965301 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ee Emc, Mancos Canyon
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965302 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 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 Montezuma 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 Montezuma 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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