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Elk County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Elk County is 222.4 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 2.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 103 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (76), Industrial wastewater discharge (11), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (9). 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: 37.4527, -96.244.

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 Elk County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	71.8	30.2	2.38xSignificant	40.6 to 125.5	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	222.4	143.2	1.55xSignificant	161.8 to 303.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	613.5	453.4	1.35xSignificant	498.5 to 750.9	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 Elk County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,719.7	9,842.6	+9%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.2	75.3	-1%	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	104.6	96.9	+8%	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.

Formaldehyde18.43 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde1.63 per million
Benzene0.77 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing76
Industrial wastewater discharge11
NPDES wastewater discharge permit9
Air permit holder (minor source)4
Public airport1
Brownfield property1
Wind 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.

Howard School, Howard
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043692224 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Moline Wastewater Treatment Facility C/O City Hall, Moline
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009741761 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Longton Sewer Treatment Plant C/O City Hall, Longton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011225281 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Cornejo Quality Stone-Moline-Durbin, Moline
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022847393 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Elk County, Moline
Public airport. O.
Record ID 2K6 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Howard Wastewater Plant, Howard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009741770 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Harshman Const. - Black Quarry, Howard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022847945 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mid-States Materials - Grand Summit Qry, Topeka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070154795 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pearson - Howard (Stormwater), Howard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071711204 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Apac - Heavy Highway - Elk Co. - Moline, Moline
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072131707 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Elk County Industrial Park, Moline
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072160314 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
26 Road, Longton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 007248K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
7th Street, Elk Falls
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 007271E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
5 Road, Moline
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 007281K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1
K-99 Highway, Moline
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 007283Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1
Us 160 Highway, Grenola
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 007311A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1
Cornejo & Sons - Howard (Air), Howard
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110007285188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Harshman Const. - Howard Quarry, Howard
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110015786121 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Cornejo & Sons - Moline Quarry, Moline
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110044862574 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Mid-States Materials - Grand Summit Quarry, Grenola
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110069998748 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Private Road, Fredonia
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 007226K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
Private Road, Longton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 007236R (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
Road 31, Longton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 007237X (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
Private Road, Longton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 007238E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
Private Road, Longton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 007239L (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1

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 Elk 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 Elk 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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