KS / county FIPS 20045 / county research

Douglas County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Douglas County is 136.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 468 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (125), Industrial wastewater discharge (91), Rail grade crossing (66). 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: 38.9025, -95.2783.

How this county ranks in Kansas

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Douglas County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	36.6	23.8	1.54xSignificant	31.7 to 42.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	20.9	14.5	1.44xSignificant	17.2 to 25	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.6	6.2	1.39xSignificant	6.3 to 11.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7.7	5.7	1.35x	5.6 to 10.4	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	24.3	18.7	1.3xSignificant	20.4 to 28.7	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	20.6	16.4	1.26x	12.2 to 32.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.5	4.4	1.25x	3.7 to 7.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	4.6	3.7	1.24x	3 to 6.8	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.7	4.8	1.19x	4 to 8	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	3.2	2.7	1.19x	1.9 to 5	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	7.7	6.6	1.17x	5.5 to 10.3	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.3	4.6	1.15x	3.6 to 7.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.3	17.9	1.13x	16.7 to 24.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.3	18.5	1.1x	16.8 to 24.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	494.5	453.4	1.09xSignificant	476.3 to 513.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.9	13.9	1.07x	11.9 to 18.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.6	3.4	1.06x	2.2 to 5.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.9	6.6	1.05x	4.9 to 9.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11.4	11.3	1.01x	8.8 to 14.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	51.7	51.8	1x	46 to 57.9	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	12.9	13	0.99x	10 to 16.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.8	30.2	0.95x	24.7 to 33.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	136.4	143.2	0.95x	127 to 146.3	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.6	4.1	0.88x	2.2 to 5.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.1	8.7	0.82x	5.1 to 9.6	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 Douglas County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,185.1	9,842.6	-37%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.2	75.3	+5%	years
Child mortality	34.2	59.8	-43%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.4	6.2	-13%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	59.3	96.9	-39%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	17.4	28.6	-39%	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.

Formaldehyde18.79 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.79 per million
Benzene1.16 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 283 days: 263 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 37, peak 101.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit125
Industrial wastewater discharge91
Rail grade crossing66
Air permit holder (minor source)49
Gas station (mapped facility)34
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)31
Small hazardous waste generator12
Large hazardous waste generator10
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)10
TRI reporting facility9
Public airport8
Major air pollution source5
Landfill (mapped facility)3
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Heliport1
Coal power plant1
Hydroelectric plant1
Gas power plant1
Oil-fired power plant1
Scrapyard (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.

Lawrence Energy Center, Lawrence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium And Barium Compounds, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Vanadium compounds, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,228,395 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66044LWRNC1250N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.2
O.A. Both Corp Dba Schlenk Metallic Pigments, Lawrence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Methyl isobutyl ketone. Reports carcinogens. 28,765 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66046STRNV3841G (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Plant #20, Lawrence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 2,058 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6604WPLNTX3645E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Westar Energy, Inc., Lawrence
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445180 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
Lawrence Energy Center, Lawrence
Coal power plant.
Record ID 1250 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6.5
Schlumberger Technology Corp Lawrence Technology Center, Lawrence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Copper, Lead And Lead Compounds, Zinc compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 281 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66044TRWNC2400P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Prosoco Inc, Lawrence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size). 2,500 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66046PRSCN3741G (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Api Americas, Lawrence
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445224 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Pennys Concrete, Lawrence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 9 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6604WPNNYS8E8TH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
University Of Kansas H W A F, Lawrence
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002343492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Prosoco Inc., Lawrence
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008059439 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Lawrence, City Of Kansas River Wwtf (Wwtp), Lawrence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002045812 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Eudora, City Of (Wwtp), Eudora
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011220927 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Farmland Industries Inc Lawrence Nitrogen Plant, Lawrence
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017480420 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Schlumberger Tech Corp Lawrence Product Center, Lawrence
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445206 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.2
Plant #20, Lawrence
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042001954 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.2
Baldwin City Plant No 1, Baldwin City
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1262 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Post Consumer Brands - Lawrence, Lawrence
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445199 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
H P Pelzer Automotive Sys Inc, Eudora
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001238170 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Chemtrade Phosphorus Specialties Llc, Lawrence
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008059475 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Icl Performance Products Lp, Lawrence
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017579850 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Westar Energy, Inc., Lawrence
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445180 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Farmland Industries Inc Lawrence Nitrogen Plant, Lawrence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017480420 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Api Americas, Lawrence
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445224 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Chemtrade Phosphorus Specialties Llc, Lawrence
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008059475 (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.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Douglas 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 Douglas 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.

Scan an address in Douglas County View on the heat map All Kansas counties