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Butler County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Butler County is 159.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Brain & nervous system deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 546 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (131), Rail grade crossing (129), Industrial wastewater discharge (102). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 37.7778, -96.8395.

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 Butler County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	8	4.4	1.82xSignificant	5.4 to 11.4	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	21.8	13	1.68xSignificant	17.1 to 27.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.2	3.4	1.53x	3.2 to 8	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	6.1	4.1	1.49x	3.9 to 9.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7	4.8	1.46x	4.6 to 10.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	9	6.2	1.45x	6.2 to 12.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24	17.9	1.34xSignificant	19.2 to 29.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39.8	30.2	1.32xSignificant	33.9 to 46.5	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	24	18.7	1.28xSignificant	19.4 to 29.4	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.3	3.7	1.16x	2.6 to 6.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.2	4.6	1.13x	3.3 to 8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	159.5	143.2	1.11xSignificant	147.3 to 172.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.5	18.5	1.11x	16.2 to 25.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	475.7	453.4	1.05xSignificant	454.1 to 498.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	54.2	51.8	1.05x	47.3 to 61.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.4	13.9	1.04x	10.8 to 18.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.5	23.8	1.03x	19.7 to 30.2	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.5	6.6	0.98x	4.3 to 9.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.1	11.3	0.98x	8.1 to 15	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.3	5.7	0.93x	3.2 to 8.2	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.9	6.6	0.89x	3.8 to 8.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	12.7	14.5	0.88x	9.4 to 17	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7	8.7	0.8x	4.7 to 10.1	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 Butler County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,909	9,842.6	-9%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.3	75.3	+0%	years
Child mortality	41.5	59.8	-31%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.6	6.2	-26%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	83.1	96.9	-14%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	22.2	28.6	-23%	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.

Formaldehyde17.55 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.86 per million
Acetaldehyde1.42 per million
Benzene1.09 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit131
Rail grade crossing129
Industrial wastewater discharge102
Air permit holder (minor source)54
Gas station (mapped facility)31
Brownfield property22
Public airport19
Small hazardous waste generator10
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)8
Large hazardous waste generator7
TRI reporting facility7
Major air pollution source6
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Hazardous waste transporter3
Gas power plant3
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Solar power plant1
Wind power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Pester Refinery Co., El Dorado
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 30.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID KSD000829846 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Hf Sinclair El Dorado Refining Llc, El Dorado
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen cyanide, Ammonia, n-Hexane, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,708,779 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67042TXCRF1401S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Frontier El Dorado Refining Co, El Dorado
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,662,758.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000446134 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Sherwin-Williams Co, Andover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Methyl isobutyl ketone, Ethylbenzene, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 75,461 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67002PRTTL630E1 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Barton Solvents Inc. El Dorado Branch, El Dorado
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Hexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 23,381 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6704WBRTNS261PI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
D-J Engineering, Augusta
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Copper and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 386 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6701WDJNGN219WE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Sherwin-Williams - Andover, Andover
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009741814 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Barton Solvents, El Dorado
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040864525 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Valmont Newmark, El Dorado
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese. 2,627 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67042VLMNT955NH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Frontier El Dorado Refining Co, El Dorado
Major air pollution source. Penalties $9,662,758.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000446134 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Valmont Newmark Industries, El Dorado
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022812018 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Dj Engineering, Augusta
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022331822 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Augusta Municipal Power Plant (#2), Augusta
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001383208 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Frontier El Dorado Refining Co, El Dorado
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $9,662,758.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000446134 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Frontier El Dorado Refining Co, El Dorado
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,662,758.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000446134 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Frontier El Dorado Refining Co, El Dorado
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $9,662,758.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000446134 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Bg Products El Dorado Manufacturing Facility, El Dorado
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Naphthalene, Xylene (mixed isomers). Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 6704WBGPRD2415P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc. - El Dorado, El Dorado
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 6704WRGNSP8EAST (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Augusta Wwtp, Augusta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011220892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Andover, City Of (Wwtp), Andover
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011222319 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions - El Dorado (Asphalt Terminal), El Dorado
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001240595 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Sherwin-Williams - Andover, Andover
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009741814 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Bg Products - El Dorado, El Dorado
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060259633 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Dianne Rollins - Landfill, El Dorado
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001936530 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Augusta Electric Plant No 1, Augusta
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002076388 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

El Dorado Correctional Facility, El Dorado
EPA FRS registry ID
110007364333
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Butler 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 Butler 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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