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Allen County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Allen County is 186.4 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 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 174 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (40), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (37), Industrial wastewater discharge (35). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 30 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: 37.8841, -95.2995.

How this county ranks in Kansas

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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 Allen County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	52.1	30.2	1.73xSignificant	38.2 to 70	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	75	51.8	1.45xSignificant	58.5 to 95.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25.3	17.9	1.41x	15.5 to 39.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	186.4	143.2	1.3xSignificant	158.4 to 218.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	29.6	23.8	1.24x	18.1 to 46	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	22.9	18.7	1.22x	14.4 to 35.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	472	453.4	1.04x	425.2 to 522.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.1	18.5	0.92x	9.8 to 28.6	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 Allen County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,475.4	9,842.6	+6%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.5	75.3	-1%	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	77.1	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: 30 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde18.36 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde1.59 per million
Benzene0.89 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing40
NPDES wastewater discharge permit37
Industrial wastewater discharge35
Air permit holder (minor source)28
Brownfield property4
Small hazardous waste generator4
TRI reporting facility4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Major air pollution source3
Public airport3
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Large hazardous waste generator1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Oil-fired power plant1
Wind power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)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.

Former United Zinc & Associated Smelters, Iola
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID KSN000705026 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Monarch Cement Co, Humboldt
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Vanadium (except when contained in an alloy), Nickel, Chromium and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 32,775 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66748MNRCHRR2BO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Monarch Cement Co, Humboldt
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017408303 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Precision International, Iola
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel compounds. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 66749CMRNN25WMI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
B & W Custom Truck Beds Inc, Humboldt
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Lead, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Manganese and 1 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 6674WBWCST1216H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Iola, Iola
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1291 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Gates Corp., Iola
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000596597 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
B & W Custom Truck Beds, Humboldt
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022896286 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Precision International, Iola
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030556985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Allen County Landfill, La Harpe
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007023023 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Monarch Cement Co, Humboldt
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017408303 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Southern Star Central - Humboldt Station, Humboldt
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017500364 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gates Corp, Iola
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Certain glycol ethers, Antimony compounds.
TRI facility ID 66749GTSRB999MI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Moran Library Bta, Moran
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041635282 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Allen County Hospital #1, Iola
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042304663 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Allen County Hospital #2, Iola
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042306000 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Arkhaven Bta, Iola
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985481 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Monarch Cement Co, Humboldt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017408303 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Precision International, Iola
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030556985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Iola, City Of (Wwtp), Iola
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KS0099414: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Monarch Cement - Humboldt, Humboldt
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KS0000701: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Allen County Landfill, La Harpe
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007023023 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Allen Co. S.D. #1 (Wwtp), Iola
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009967465 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Monarch Cement - Humboldt, Humboldt
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072214389 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Moran, City Of Moran Wastewater Plant, Moran
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009967964 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3

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 Allen County

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