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Ouray County, Colorado: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ouray County is 131.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 244 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Brownfield property (173), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (28), Industrial wastewater discharge (26). 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: 38.1125, -107.7266.

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 Ouray 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	35.2	23.8	1.48x	16.2 to 69.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	131.5	143.2	0.92x	96.5 to 178.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	385.2	453.4	0.85x	321.5 to 460.6	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 Ouray County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	4,077.4	9,842.6	-59%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	85.4	75.3	+14%	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	112.4	96.9	+16%	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.

Formaldehyde7.48 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.25 per million
Acetaldehyde0.46 per million
Pahpom0.36 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Brownfield property173
NPDES wastewater discharge permit28
Industrial wastewater discharge26
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Hazardous waste transporter2
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Hydroelectric plant1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Ouray Silver Mines Inc., Ouray
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Zinc compounds. 4,895 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8142WRYSLV1416C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Ridgway, Town Of, Ridgway
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $51,041.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022551683 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Hangin Tree Travel Plaza Wwtf, Montrose
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $19,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070668828 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Ruby Trust Mine, Ouray County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010053761 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Throin Resouces Llc, Ouray
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055623918 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Sako Excavation, Ouray
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070063523 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ouray City Of, Ouray County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071403784 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Upper Mountain Top, Ouray County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069417946 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Ouray Silver Mine, Ouray
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069488619 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Ouray City Of-Chlorinator, Ouray
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010053388 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Ouray Hot Springs Swimming Pool Wwtf, Ouray
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070214372 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Norma M.S., Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038705835 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Nuada, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038705844 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Trail, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038705853 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Olympia, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038705871 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ores And Metals M.S., Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038705906 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Oro Cache, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038705915 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cherubusco, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038705924 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Chicago, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038705933 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Clorinda, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038705951 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cloudy Day, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038705960 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Columbine M.S., Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038705979 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Compass, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038705988 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Constance, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038706013 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Coronado, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038706022 (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 Ouray 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 Ouray 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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