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Cowley County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cowley County is 168.3 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 410 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (185), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (55), Industrial wastewater discharge (43). 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: 37.2335, -96.8375.

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 Cowley County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.4	30.2	1.37xSignificant	33.6 to 50.6	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.8	5.7	1.19x	3.9 to 11.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	168.3	143.2	1.18xSignificant	151.7 to 186.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.9	17.9	1.11x	14.3 to 27	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.1	13.9	1.09x	10.2 to 21.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	55.4	51.8	1.07x	46.4 to 65.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9	8.7	1.03x	5.7 to 13.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.3	23.8	1.02x	17.8 to 32.5	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.1	13	1.01x	8.5 to 19.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.4	18.5	0.99x	13 to 25.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	435.3	453.4	0.96x	407.4 to 464.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.9	14.5	0.89x	8.5 to 18.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.6	11.3	0.85x	5.8 to 15	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	12.9	18.7	0.69x	8.7 to 18.6	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 Cowley County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,886.9	9,842.6	+11%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.7	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	75.4	59.8	+26%	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	91	96.9	-6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	14.5	28.6	-49%	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.

Formaldehyde18.03 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde1.43 per million
Benzene0.79 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing185
NPDES wastewater discharge permit55
Industrial wastewater discharge43
Air permit holder (minor source)38
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)23
Gas station (mapped facility)20
Brownfield property9
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)6
Public airport5
Major air pollution source4
Small hazardous waste generator4
Scrapyard (mapped facility)4
Large hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility3
Heliport2
Gas power plant2
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Oil-fired power plant1
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.

Strother Field Industrial Park, Cowley County
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 33.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID KSD980862726 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, Arkansas City
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $3,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012704118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Ge Engine Services - Strother South, Arkansas City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041184642 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.4
Creekstone Farms Premium Beef Llc, Arkansas City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Hydrogen sulfide. 6,471,407 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67005FTRBF604GO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
General Electric Aviation, Winfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Cobalt, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 9,146 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67005GNRLLSTROT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Greif Industrial Packaging & Services, Winfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Butyl alcohol, Certain glycol ethers, Xylene (mixed isomers). 138,756 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67156GRFBRRT3BO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
General Electric Aviation, Winfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 1,033 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67156BNNYS2000L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Ge Engine Services - Strother South, Arkansas City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041184642 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Greif Packaging - Winfield, Winfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000446287 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Arkansas City Mwwtp, Arkansas City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006367092 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Ge Engine Services - Strother South, Arkansas City
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041184642 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, Arkansas City
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012704118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Western Industries Plastic Products Llc, Winfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds. 439 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6715WWSTRN77271 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5
Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, Arkansas City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012704118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Strother Field Commission Strother Field Airport/Ind Park, Winfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008346432 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Winfield, City Of (Wwtp), Winfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009967884 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Waste Water Plant Generator, Winfield
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 56022 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Coffeyville Resources Crude Transportati, Dexter
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010423407 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Winfield Municipal Power Plant, Winfield
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017528399 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
East 12th Street, Winfield
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7013 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
West 14th Street, Winfield
Gas power plant.
Record ID 1332 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Caldwell Recycling Center, Caldwell
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038697489 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Udall Community Center, Udall
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968627 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former South Central Regional Mdical Center, Arkansas City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968677 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Gottlob Business Park, Winfield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973381 (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.

Winfield Correctional Facility, Winfield
EPA FRS registry ID
110017500667
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Cowley 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 Cowley 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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