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Decatur County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Decatur County is 93.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 110 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (63), Air permit holder (minor source) (17), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (11). 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: 39.8058, -100.4601.

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 Decatur County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	346.8	453.4	0.76x	273.7 to 438.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	93.1	143.2	0.65x	58.6 to 147.1	2020-2024

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 Decatur County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,238.6	9,842.6	+4%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.4	75.3	+0%	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	93.4	96.9	-4%	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.

Formaldehyde11.6 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.75 per million
Acetaldehyde0.77 per million
Benzene0.45 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing63
Air permit holder (minor source)17
NPDES wastewater discharge permit11
Industrial wastewater discharge9
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Brownfield property2
Commercial airport1
Oil-fired power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Oberlin (Ks), Oberlin
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1312 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Norcatur Bta, Norcatur
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968536 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bargain Box Bta, Oberlin
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985307 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Oberlin Muni, Oberlin
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID OIN (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Oberlin, City Of, Oberlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055366535 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Sumner Farms Incorporated, Norcatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009967642 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Southwest Feeders - Danbury, Oberlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010837791 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Decatur County Beef, Llc, Oberlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011220400 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Western Pig Company, Norcatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011222346 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Larson Feedlot, Oberlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015982640 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Baker Petrolite - Oberlin (Stormwater), Oberlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055259624 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Oberlin Concrete, Oberlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070255210 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Akrs John Deere, Oberlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071710453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tigt Oberlin Lateral, Oberlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071924931 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bac - Jennings Site (Water), Jennings
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072227054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
T-241 County Rd, Jennings
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 599018S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
County Road 509, Jennings
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 599019Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
J Lane, Jennings
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 599020T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Jennings
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 599021A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
2500th Road, Jennings
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 599022G (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
N Washington Street, Jennings
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 599023N (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Npennsylvania Ave, Jennings
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 599024V (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Jennings
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 599026J (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Jennings
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 599027R (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
2300th Road, Jennings
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 599028X (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2

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 Decatur 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 Decatur 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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