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Dickinson County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Dickinson County is 170.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Pancreas deaths at 2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 315 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (173), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (44), Air permit holder (minor source) (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: 38.8729, -97.1494.

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 Dickinson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	Deaths	22.4	11.3	1.98xSignificant	15 to 32.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	20.1	14.5	1.39x	13.2 to 29.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30.6	23.8	1.29x	20.7 to 43.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	16.2	13	1.25x	9.2 to 26.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	170.5	143.2	1.19xSignificant	148.9 to 194.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	57.6	51.8	1.11x	45.2 to 72.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	33.1	30.2	1.1x	24 to 44.9	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	19.8	18.7	1.06x	13.1 to 29.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.9	17.9	1.06x	12.2 to 28.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	471.1	453.4	1.04x	432.8 to 512.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.4	13.9	1.04x	8.7 to 23	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.2	18.5	0.98x	11.4 to 28	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 Dickinson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,197.3	9,842.6	+14%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.1	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	75.9	59.8	+27%	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	96.4	96.9	-1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	19.9	28.6	-30%	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.

Formaldehyde16.11 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde1.3 per million
Benzene0.76 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing173
NPDES wastewater discharge permit44
Air permit holder (minor source)31
Industrial wastewater discharge23
Gas station (mapped facility)14
Brownfield property6
Small hazardous waste generator6
Public airport4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Major air pollution source2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Oil-fired power plant1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Abilene West, Abilene
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 361 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6741WBLNWS215NW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Great Plains Manufacturing Inc. Abilene, Abilene
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 89 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67410GRTPL1100N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Plant #2 Abilene Ks, Abilene
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 23 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6741WBLNCN28SMU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Herington, Herington
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1283 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Consolidated Nutrition Lc, Abilene
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000446919 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Abilene, City Of Wwtp, Abilene
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017525962 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Great Plains Manufacturing- Land Pride Abilene West, Abilene
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070862715 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Anr Pipeline - Enterprise Station, Enterprise
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017476756 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Great Plains Manufacturing- Land Pride Abilene West, Abilene
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070862715 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Old Abilene Town, Abilene
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038745427 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Herington School Bta, Herington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044862002 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Navarre Community Center, Navarre
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071964591 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Chapman Grocery Store Bta, Chapman
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071984497 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Green Ford Sales Bta, Abilene
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071984500 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Herington Mall, Herington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985842 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Solomon Waste Water Treatment Facility C/O City Hall, Solomon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011223988 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Adm Animal Nutrition, Abilene
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 67410CNTRL1000N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Herington Water Treatment Plant, Herington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070695478 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Rock Springs 4-H Ranch (Wwtp), Junction City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009966402 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Abilene Muni, Abilene
Public airport. O.
Record ID K78 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1176610819 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1353458921 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
City of Hope
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1544055852 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/880537262 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Great Plains Manufacturing- Land Pride Abilene West, Abilene
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070862715 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

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 Dickinson 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 Dickinson 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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