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Gem County, Idaho: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Gem County is 145.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 187 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (81), Industrial wastewater discharge (51), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (28). 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: 44.1594, -116.2859.

How this county ranks in Idaho

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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 Gem County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22	17.9	1.23x	14.6 to 32.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	17	13.9	1.22x	11.1 to 25.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.1	18.7	1.13x	14.8 to 29.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	26.8	23.8	1.13x	18.9 to 37.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.2	14.5	1.12x	9.8 to 25.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	145.3	143.2	1.01x	126.7 to 166.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	460	453.4	1.01x	424.4 to 498.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	52	51.8	1x	41.4 to 65.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.8	11.3	0.96x	6.5 to 17.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.1	30.2	0.93x	20.7 to 37.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	11.9	18.5	0.64x	7 to 19.6	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 Gem County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,929.3	9,842.6	-9%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.9	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	53.2	59.8	-11%	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	116.2	96.9	+20%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde14.11 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.75 per million
Acetaldehyde1.7 per million
Naphthalene1.65 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing81
Industrial wastewater discharge51
NPDES wastewater discharge permit28
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Public airport5
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Brownfield property4
Major air pollution source1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Hydroelectric 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.

Northwest Pipeline Llc - Caldwell, Caldwell
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007263380 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Dagger Falls Subdivision, Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071400198 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Former Sand Hollow Landfill, Emmett
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042232571 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Jims Amoco Service, Emmett
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044764467 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
142 E. Main, Old Deleon Propert, Emmett
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968285 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
304 E. Main St., Emmett, Emmett
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983053 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Emerald Forest Products, Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $18,120.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040493980 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Emerald Forest Products, Emmett
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $18,120.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040493980 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
City Transfer Pit, Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070673421 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Cherry Heights Subdivision-Perigee Group, Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071946347 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Badger Pit (Premier), Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071961810 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Crowfoot 2 Pit (Avimor), Horseshoe Bend
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072104728 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Emmett Wwtp, Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061868297 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Emmett Pit (Suncore Construction & Materials), Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071158562 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Letha Wastewater Improvements, Letha
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072082233 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Groveland Subdivision No 1, Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072106145 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Emmett Muni, Emmett
Public airport. O.
Record ID S78 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Gem County Landfill, Emmett
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1188144438 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Emmett Facility, Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071065166 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Covia Holdings Corporation, Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001362490 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Shadow Butte Gravel Pit, Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070685948 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Payette River Orchards Subdivision No.1, Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070791539 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Idaho Pizza Restaurant Emmett, Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071092995 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Payette River Orchards Subdivision Lots, Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071345145 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Emmett Highway Self Storage (Forge Building Co), Emmett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071540737 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Gem County

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