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Ellis County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ellis County is 141.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Leukemia deaths at 1.9 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 234 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (52), Rail grade crossing (41), Industrial wastewater discharge (40). 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: 38.9248, -99.3172.

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 Ellis County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	Deaths	10.7	5.7	1.88xSignificant	6.2 to 17.4	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	28.4	18.7	1.52xSignificant	20.8 to 38.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	27.1	18.5	1.46xSignificant	19.3 to 37.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	19.8	14.5	1.37x	13.2 to 28.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.5	11.3	1.11x	7.7 to 19.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	492.9	453.4	1.09xSignificant	458.4 to 529.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.9	13.9	1.07x	9.6 to 22.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19	17.9	1.06x	12.8 to 27.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.8	23.8	1.04x	17.4 to 34.3	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.2	13	1.02x	7.7 to 21.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	141.8	143.2	0.99x	123.8 to 161.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	49.6	51.8	0.96x	39.2 to 62.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.1	30.2	0.93x	20.3 to 38	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 Ellis County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,166.1	9,842.6	-37%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79	75.3	+5%	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	68.2	96.9	-30%	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.

Formaldehyde13.8 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.8 per million
Acetaldehyde0.99 per million
Benzene0.58 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit52
Rail grade crossing41
Industrial wastewater discharge40
Air permit holder (minor source)34
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)11
Brownfield property9
Small hazardous waste generator6
Public airport3
Large hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Wind power plant2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Gas 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.

Hess Services Inc-North Yard, Hays
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 67,817 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6760WHSSSR17892 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Championx-Hays, Hays
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 7,969 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67601CHMPN119RE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Hess Services - Hays (230th Ave), Hays
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044321043 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Enersys Delaware Inc, Hays
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003154899 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Enersys, Hays
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds, Antimony. 711 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67601YSXDBONEEX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Hays Rgnl, Hays
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID HYS (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Hess Services - Hays (230th Ave), Hays
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044321043 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Nalco Company-Hays, Hays
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020514745 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hess Services - Hays (230th Ave), Hays
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044321043 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hays, City Of (Ms4), Hays
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070503567 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Enersys Delaware Inc, Hays
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003154899 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Goodman Energy Center, Hays
Gas power plant.
Record ID 56497 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.1
205 Washington Street Bta, Ellis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037175767 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ellis Redevelopment, Ellis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038745285 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ellis Medical Clinic Bta, Ellis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040822312 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Country View Mobile Park Bta, Hays
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042316124 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Nex-Tech Mobile Radio Bta, Hays
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043182007 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ellis County Public Works Shop, Ellis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071966792 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Consolidated Grain Inc., Hays
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967426 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ellis Community Center Bta, Ellis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967490 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
St Johns Rest Home Bta, Victoria
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985492 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ellis County Solid Waste, Hays
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044929691 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Hays, City Of - Chetolah Creek Water Reclamation And Reuse Facility (Wrrf) (Wwtp, Hays
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067179476 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Hays, City Of - Chetolah Creek Water Reclamation And Reuse Facility (Wrrf) (Wwtp, Hays
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KS0100820: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Midwest Energy, Inc., Hays
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030490788 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8

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 Ellis 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 Ellis 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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