FL / county FIPS 12093 / county research

Okeechobee County, Florida: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Okeechobee County is 185.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 274 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (104), Industrial wastewater discharge (69), Rail grade crossing (21). One correctional facility operates in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. 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: 27.3011, -80.8409.

How this county ranks in Florida

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Okeechobee County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	49.8	30.2	1.65xSignificant	42.3 to 58.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	8.6	5.7	1.51x	5.6 to 12.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	77.5	51.8	1.5xSignificant	67.9 to 88.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	32.3	23.8	1.36xSignificant	26 to 39.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	185.9	143.2	1.3xSignificant	170.7 to 202.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	22.2	18.5	1.2x	16.8 to 28.8	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.3	4.6	1.15x	3 to 8.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.8	11.3	1.13x	9.1 to 17.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	487.4	453.4	1.07xSignificant	461.3 to 514.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.1	4.8	1.06x	3 to 8.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	14.7	14.5	1.01x	10.5 to 20.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.3	13.9	0.96x	9.5 to 18.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.7	18.7	0.95x	13.2 to 23.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.5	17.9	0.92x	11.9 to 22.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.9	6.6	0.89x	3.4 to 9.9	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.4	8.7	0.74x	3.8 to 10.3	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	8.7	13	0.67x	5 to 14	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 Okeechobee County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,549.3	9,842.6	+28%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.2	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	72.2	59.8	+21%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.5	6.2	-12%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	126.8	96.9	+31%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	40.7	28.6	+42%	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.

Formaldehyde18.26 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde1.62 per million
Benzene0.57 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit104
Industrial wastewater discharge69
Rail grade crossing21
Air permit holder (minor source)14
Public airport12
Small hazardous waste generator10
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Scrapyard (mapped facility)7
Brownfield property5
Heliport5
Major air pollution source3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Solar power plant2
TRI reporting facility2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Gas power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Okeechobee Clean Energy Center, Okeechobee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 810,303 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3497WKCHBC3193N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Atland Recycling, Inc, Okeechobee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $74.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042182884 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Okeechobee Clean Energy Center, Okeechobee
Gas power plant.
Record ID 60345 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4.7
Westlake Royal Roofing - Okeechobee, Okeechobee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 3497WNTGRR1289N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Fort Drum Service Plaza, Okeechobee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110053758420 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Ranch Fertilizer, Okeechobee
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000365925 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Okeechobee Utility Authority Swtp, Okeechobee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000724379 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Paul Calcaterra Alligator Farm, Okeechobee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006778282 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Entegra Roof Tile Corp, Okeechobee
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031337505 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Okeechobee Landfill, Inc., Okeechobee
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013930906 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
J.M. Larson, Inc., Barn #3, Okeechobee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017886698 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Florida Power & Light Company, Okeechobee
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067428563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Charles Industries Ltd Inc, Okeechobee
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070005117 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Okeechobee Landfill, Inc., Okeechobee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013930906 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Larson Dairy - Barn #8, Okeechobee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027950475 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Bowlegs Pasture Site, Okeechobee
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038759812 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Driving Range Site, Okeechobee
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038759830 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Knot'S Landing Pasture Site, Okeechobee
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038759947 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Southwest Agricultural Site, Okeechobee
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038760016 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tucker Rock Mine, Okeechobee
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038760034 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Diamond R Fertilizer Co Inc, Okeechobee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 34972RNCHF710NE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Okeechobee Landfill, Inc., Okeechobee
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013930906 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Fpl - Okeechobee Clean Energy Center, Okeechobee
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069997266 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Milking R Dairy, Okeechobee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027369112 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Okeechobee County, Okeechobee
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID OBE (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.

Okeechobee Correctiona, Okeechobee
EPA FRS registry ID
110016524046
Water system
FL4474497
Health-based violations
7 all time, 1 in 5 years
All violations
73
Contaminants cited
Coliform (TCR), TTHM, Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Okeechobee County

Florida 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 Okeechobee County, and their findings.
Florida vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Florida health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Florida 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.
Florida 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.

Scan an address in Okeechobee County View on the heat map All Florida counties