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Pueblo County, Colorado: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Pueblo County is 157.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,102 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (288), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (275), Air permit holder (minor source) (189). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 38.1346, -104.5532.

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 Pueblo County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.5	8.7	1.32xSignificant	9.6 to 13.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.7	6.6	1.32xSignificant	7.2 to 10.6	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.6	2	1.3x	1.8 to 3.8	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	16.5	13	1.27xSignificant	13.9 to 19.5	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.9	4.1	1.2x	3.7 to 6.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.8	3.4	1.12x	2.8 to 5.2	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	4.1	3.7	1.11x	3 to 5.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.3	5.7	1.11x	5 to 8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	157.9	143.2	1.1xSignificant	150.6 to 165.4	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.9	2.7	1.07x	1.9 to 4.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.4	17.9	1.03x	15.8 to 21.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	30.8	30.2	1.02x	27.7 to 34.2	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	16.7	16.4	1.02x	10.9 to 24.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.2	11.3	0.99x	9.3 to 13.3	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.8	6.2	0.94x	4.3 to 7.5	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4.1	4.6	0.89x	3 to 5.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.2	18.7	0.87x	14 to 18.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.9	13.9	0.86x	10 to 14.1	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.5	6.6	0.83x	4.2 to 7.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	373.4	453.4	0.82x	361.8 to 385.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	42.3	51.8	0.82x	38.7 to 46.2	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.5	4.4	0.8x	2.5 to 4.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	12.1	18.5	0.65x	10.1 to 14.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	3.1	4.8	0.65x	2.2 to 4.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	8.8	14.5	0.61x	7.1 to 10.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	12.3	23.8	0.52x	10.3 to 14.7	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 Pueblo County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,502.2	9,842.6	+37%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.5	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	64.2	59.8	+7%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.5	6.2	+5%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	132.2	96.9	+36%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	43.4	28.6	+52%	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.

Formaldehyde11.57 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.53 per million
Naphthalene1.08 per million
Acetaldehyde0.94 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 268 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 45, peak 101.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,102 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Industrial wastewater discharge288
NPDES wastewater discharge permit275
Air permit holder (minor source)189
Rail grade crossing94
Gas station (mapped facility)60
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)37
Brownfield property22
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)21
Small hazardous waste generator18
Landfill (mapped facility)18
TRI reporting facility14
Major air pollution source12
Large greenhouse gas emitter7
Large hazardous waste generator7
Scrapyard (mapped facility)7
Public airport5
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)5
EPA air quality monitor3
Hazardous waste transporter3
Heliport3
Solar power plant3
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Oil-fired power plant2
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Coal power plant1
Hydroelectric plant1
Gas power plant1
Wind power plant1
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.

Rocky Mountain Steel Mill, Pueblo
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $479,673.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000467833 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Comanche (470), Pueblo
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $946,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000467851 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Gcc Rio Grande Inc, Pueblo
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $366,625.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037262636 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Colorado Smelter, Pueblo
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID CON000802700 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Public Service Co Of Colorado Comanche Station, Pueblo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium And Barium Compounds, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Vanadium compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 7,665,360 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 81006PBLCS2005L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.8
Vestas Towers America, Pueblo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039573896 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.1
Gcc Rio Grande Inc, Pueblo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Hydrogen cyanide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 740,343 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 81004GCCRG3372L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel, Pueblo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen fluoride, Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds, Lead compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 244,758 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 81004CFSTL225CA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Kmg Electronic Chemicals Inc, Pueblo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043786356 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Cs Wind America, Pueblo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, Ethylbenzene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 160,539 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8100WVSTST1TWER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Goodrich Corp, Pueblo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen cyanide, Xylene (mixed isomers), Benzene, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 8,350 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 81001BFGDR50WIL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Rocky Mountain Steel Mill, Pueblo
Major air pollution source. Penalties $479,673.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000467833 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Comanche (470), Pueblo
Major air pollution source. Penalties $946,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000467851 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Us Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, Pueblo
Major air pollution source. Penalties $549,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000912665 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Gcc Rio Grande Inc, Pueblo
Major air pollution source. Penalties $366,625.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037262636 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Comanche (Co), Pueblo
Coal power plant.
Record ID 470 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 7.4
Alta Fuels Llc - Pueblo Plant, Pueblo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Benzene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 4,466 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8100WLTFLS1739E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Rocky Mountain Steel Mill, Pueblo
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $479,673.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000467833 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Rocky Mountain Steel Mill, Pueblo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $479,673.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000467833 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Comanche (470), Pueblo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $946,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000467851 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Us Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, Pueblo
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $549,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000912665 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Us Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, Pueblo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $549,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000912665 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Gcc Rio Grande Inc, Pueblo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $366,625.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037262636 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Harsco Metals - Pueblo, Pueblo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Manganese compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,044 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 81002HRSHC11HAR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Rocky Mountain Steel Mill, Pueblo
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $479,673.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000467833 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Pueblo County Detention Center, Pueblo
EPA FRS registry ID
110071444563
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Pueblo 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 Pueblo 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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