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Barber County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Barber County is 208.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 160 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (59), Rail grade crossing (52), Industrial wastewater discharge (21). 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: 37.2246, -98.6753.

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 Barber County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	208.5	143.2	1.46xSignificant	158.7 to 271	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	69.3	51.8	1.34x	43.6 to 107.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	471.7	453.4	1.04x	396.7 to 558.8	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 Barber County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,121.5	9,842.6	+3%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.2	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	107	96.9	+10%	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.

Formaldehyde16.87 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.84 per million
Acetaldehyde1.23 per million
Benzene0.84 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)59
Rail grade crossing52
Industrial wastewater discharge21
NPDES wastewater discharge permit13
Brownfield property4
Public airport3
Major air pollution source2
Wind power plant2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
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.

National Gypsum - Medicine Lodge, Medicine Lodge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002128402 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.1
Superior Midstream - Okmar Station, Medicine Lodge
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010393831 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Superior Midstream - Medicine Lodge Station, Medicine Lodge
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010397007 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gold Bond Building Products - Medicine Lodge, Medicine Lodge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. 3 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67104NTNLGRR1BO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.4
Kiowa Hospital Bta, Kiowa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056993614 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cedar Crest Nursing Home, Medicine Lodge
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968667 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Medicine Lodge 101 S. Main Bta, Medicine Lodge
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985479 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Medicine Lodge 126 N. Main Bta, Medicine Lodge
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985490 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
National Gypsum - Medicine Lodge, Medicine Lodge
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002128402 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Bob Bergkamp Constr - Sun City Qry, Sun City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070563673 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Walz, Kiowa
Public airport. O.
Record ID 4KS (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Medicine Lodge, Medicine Lodge
Public airport. O.
Record ID K51 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Medicine Lodge, City Of, Medicine Lodge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022850280 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Hardtner, City Of (Wwtp), Hardtner
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071711439 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
National Gypsum - Medicine Lodge, Medicine Lodge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002128402 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bedwell Feeders, Medicine Lodge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010837773 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gold Bond Bldg Products - Sun City Qry, Medicine Lodge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017504967 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cargill Ranch Llc, Isabel
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064506244 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Barber County Landfill (Stormwater), Kiowa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070001457 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Beran Concrete Medicine Lodge, Medicine Lodge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070254587 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bce-Mach Iii Llc/Paxton 33-34-11 1h (Air), Hazelton
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110071356672 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Medicine Lodge - Multi-Use Path, Medicine Lodge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071658568 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bce-Mach Iii Llc, Jahay 6h, Hazelton
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110071855122 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bce-Mach Iii, Llc (Kiowa), Kiowa
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110071855125 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
7430-01 (Stormwater), Medicine Lodge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071865351 (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 Barber 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 Barber 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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