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Ellsworth County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ellsworth County is 162.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 127 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (51), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (18), Industrial wastewater discharge (16). 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: 38.6892, -98.2025.

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 Ellsworth County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	162.2	143.2	1.13x	126.7 to 205.7	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	416.9	453.4	0.92x	357.4 to 484.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	44.4	51.8	0.86x	27.1 to 70.3	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 Ellsworth County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,283.6	9,842.6	-16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.7	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	77.4	96.9	-20%	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.

Formaldehyde15.05 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.84 per million
Acetaldehyde1.15 per million
Benzene0.59 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing51
NPDES wastewater discharge permit18
Industrial wastewater discharge16
Air permit holder (minor source)14
Gas station (mapped facility)8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Brownfield property3
Small hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Major air pollution source2
Public airport1
Wind power plant1
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.

Oneok Hydrocarbon Lp - Bushton Complex, Bushton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, n-Hexane, Benzene, Cyclohexane. Reports carcinogens. 8,950,818 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6742WNKHYD777AV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.8
Oneok Hydrocarbon, Lp - Bushton Complex, Bushton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070506909 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Great Plains Manufacturing Inc Ellsworth, Ellsworth
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 161 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6743WGRTPL91E8T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Cashco Inc., Ellsworth
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $6,350.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000446955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Great Plains Manufacturing Inc Ellsworth, Ellsworth
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037189592 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Cvco Llc Dba Cashco & Valve Concepts, Ellsworth
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese, Copper. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 67439CSHCNHWY14 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Ellsworth Wastewater Plant, Ellsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006811012 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Natural Gas Pipeline Of America - Wilson Station 194, Wilson
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007061650 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Northern Natural Gas Company, Bushton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022332634 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Former Lorraine Service Station, Lorraine
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060519041 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
City Of Wilson Bta Property, Wilson
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061004103 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Veterans Memorial Hospital, Ellsworth
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983529 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cashco Inc., Ellsworth
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $6,350.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000446955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cashco Inc., Ellsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,350.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000446955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Northern Natural Gas Company, Bushton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022332634 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cashco Inc., Ellsworth
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $6,350.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000446955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Great Plains Manufacturing Inc Ellsworth, Ellsworth
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037189592 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Great Plains Manufacturing Inc Ellsworth, Ellsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037189592 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Wilson Wastewater Plant 2, Wilson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022847838 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Great Plains Manufacturing Inc Ellsworth, Ellsworth
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037189592 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Ellsworth Muni, Ellsworth
Public airport. O.
Record ID 9K7 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/917394670 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Independent Salt, Kanopolis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007061570 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Northern Natural Gas Company, Bushton
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022332634 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ellsworth Co. Rwd 1 - Post Rock, Marquette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039405033 (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 Ellsworth 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 Ellsworth 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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