KS / county FIPS 20013 / county research

Brown County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Brown County is 191.7 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 234 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (88), Brownfield property (35), Industrial wastewater discharge (31). 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: 39.8164, -95.5643.

How this county ranks in Kansas

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 Brown County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	49.7	30.2	1.65xSignificant	33.9 to 71.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	191.7	143.2	1.34xSignificant	159.4 to 229.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	58	51.8	1.12x	41.1 to 80.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	450.5	453.4	0.99x	398.2 to 508.4	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 Brown County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,703	9,842.6	+19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.9	75.3	-3%	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	113.8	96.9	+17%	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.

Formaldehyde16.36 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.46 per million
Benzene0.67 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing88
Brownfield property35
Industrial wastewater discharge31
NPDES wastewater discharge permit28
Air permit holder (minor source)22
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Public airport5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Large hazardous waste generator2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
EPA air quality monitor1
TRI reporting facility1
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.

Mac Equipment Inc, Sabetha
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033113663 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Coperion Process Solutions, Sabetha
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 30 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6653WCPRNP81SLD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Midwest Ready Mix, Hiawatha
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 4 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6643WMDWSTSE61S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Coperion Process Solutions, Sabetha
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071948339 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Kickapoo Tribe In Kansas, Horton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017701496 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kickapoo Tribe Trading Post, Horton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017702020 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Koch & Co Inc., Hiawatha
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057425308 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Hiawatha Implement Bta, Hiawatha
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003157388 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
City Of Horton, Horton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015334182 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Talley'S Welding Shop, Morrill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017490071 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Morrill Elevator, Morrill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038741298 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hartley'S Garage, Morrill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038741305 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Kenny'S Tire And Auto Bta, Horton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041302658 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Horton Hospital Bta, Horton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041303201 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Horton Library Bta, Horton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041307136 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Horton Armory Bta, Horton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041307207 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Greenhouse, Reserve
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041555313 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sac & Fox Maintenance Building, Reserve
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041555331 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Padonia Property Bta, Hiawatha
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041555340 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Reserve 2, Reserve
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042111513 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Stateline Road, Reserve
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042111522 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sac & Fox Hillyer Bta, Reserve
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044862084 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Horton Abandoned Fuel Station, Horton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071964155 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Red Earth East, Reserve
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967671 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sac & Fox Museum, Reserve
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968623 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 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 Brown 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 Brown 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.

Scan an address in Brown County View on the heat map All Kansas counties