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Lemhi County, Idaho: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lemhi County is 139.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 119 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (50), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (28), Public airport (10). 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: 44.9678, -114.0894.

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 Lemhi 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	38.8	23.8	1.63x	23.4 to 61.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.1	18.5	1.14x	11.7 to 37.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	466.7	453.4	1.03x	414.1 to 525.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	139.4	143.2	0.97x	114.3 to 170.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	39.7	51.8	0.77x	26.4 to 59.6	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 Lemhi County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,399.7	9,842.6	+16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.3	75.3	+0%	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	131	96.9	+35%	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.

Formaldehyde7.99 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.52 per million
Acetaldehyde0.97 per million
Pahpom0.63 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 261 good, 2 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 29, peak 163.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge50
NPDES wastewater discharge permit28
Public airport10
Air permit holder (minor source)9
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Brownfield property2
Hazardous waste transporter2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Oil-fired power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
Proposed Superfund site1
TRI reporting facility1
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.

Blackbird Mine, Lemhi County
Proposed Superfund site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. Proposed NPL Site.
EPA site ID IDD980725832 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 8
Qb Corp, Salmon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formic acid, Methanol, Formaldehyde, Phenol. Reports carcinogens. 12,233 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 83467QBCRP142HW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Q-B Corporation, Salmon
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037148306 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Beartrack Mine, Shoup
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020035326 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Salmon - Charles St.
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 160590004 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.8
Salmon Sewage Lagoon, Salmon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011271685 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Salmon Diesel, Salmon
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 817 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Idaho Cobalt Project, Cobalt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059780893 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Rvier City Redemix, Salmon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069476089 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Beartrack Mine, Shoup
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110020035326 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Pahsimeroi State Fish Hatchery, May
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037094514 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Perkins Gravel Pit, Carmen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067192059 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Iron Creek Mine, Salmon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071066428 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Beasley Property, Salmon
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038744810 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Fjr Properties Llc, Ellis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071980311 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cole Ranch Gravel Pit, Salmon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070561034 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Blackbird Mine, Cobalt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007513324 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Meridian Beartrack Company - Beartrack Mine, Salmon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067025837 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Idaho Cobalt Project, Cobalt
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110059780893 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
May, May
Public airport. O.
Record ID 0U8 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Hoodoo Meadows, Salmon
Public airport. O.
Record ID 4D2 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Lower Loon Creek, Challis
Public airport. O.
Record ID C53 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Lemhi County, Salmon
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID SMN (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Leadore, Leadore
Public airport. O.
Record ID U00 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Noranda Mining Inc, Cobalt
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ID0025259: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.8

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 Lemhi 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 Lemhi 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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