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Doniphan County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Doniphan County is 190 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 1.9 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 79 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (17), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (16), Air permit holder (minor source) (15). 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: 39.8101, -95.108.

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 Doniphan County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	57.7	30.2	1.91xSignificant	39.7 to 82.4	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	39.7	23.8	1.67x	21.7 to 66.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	190	143.2	1.33xSignificant	153.5 to 233.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	63.2	51.8	1.22x	44 to 89.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	495.4	453.4	1.09x	433.5 to 564.4	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 Doniphan County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,807.2	9,842.6	-31%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.9	75.3	+2%	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	61	96.9	-37%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde17.6 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.6 per million
Benzene0.8 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge17
NPDES wastewater discharge permit16
Air permit holder (minor source)15
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)6
Rail grade crossing5
TRI reporting facility5
Small hazardous waste generator4
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Large hazardous waste generator3
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
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.

Altec Industries Inc., Wathena
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 53,660 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66090LTCND1009V (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Ritepack Inc, Wathena
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Tetrachlorvinphos, Permethrin, Diflubenzuron, Diazinon and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 230 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66024KMGBR52S15 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Midland Steel Co, Wathena
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Chromium, Zinc compounds. Reports carcinogens. 140 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66090MDLND1BCHL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Altec Industries, Inc., Wathena
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015584376 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Pro-Dig Llc, Wathena
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 3 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6609WPRDGL164RS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5
Ritepack, Inc. - Kmg, Elwood
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037194531 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Snorkel International Llc, Elwood
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66024SNRKLHWY23 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Elwood Sewer Treatment Plant C/O City Hall, Wathena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011225156 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Herzog Contracting Corp, Elwood
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Cadmium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 6609WHRZGC13RSE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Midland Steel Co, Wathena
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025333752 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Pro-Dig, Llc, Wathena
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071955656 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Snorkel International, Elwood
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Growmark, Inc, Wathena
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032911151 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Elwood Asphalt Plant (Stormwater), Elwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069597305 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
801 Woodsdale Road Bta, Elwood
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071980139 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Snorkel International, Elwood
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Altec Industries, Inc., Wathena
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015584376 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Trailer Cleaning Service, Elwood
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071673334 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Wathena City Of Sewer Treatment Plant, Wathena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009968188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Highland City Of Sewer Treatment Plant, Highland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009967955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Troy, City Of, Troy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011225502 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/878034724 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Snorkel International, Elwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Midland Steel, Wathena
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003154041 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Midland Steel, Wathena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003154041 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Doniphan 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 Doniphan 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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