KS / county FIPS 20057 / county research

Ford County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ford County is 135.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 331 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (101), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (66), Air permit holder (minor source) (38). 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: 37.6909, -99.8869.

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 Ford County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	New cases	15.1	13.9	1.09x	9.5 to 22.7	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.7	13	1.05x	8.5 to 20.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	135.7	143.2	0.95x	117.8 to 155.4	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	17.2	18.7	0.92x	11 to 25.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.6	17.9	0.87x	10 to 23.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	381.6	453.4	0.84x	351.2 to 414	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	24.9	30.2	0.82x	17.6 to 34.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	41.8	51.8	0.81x	32 to 53.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11.4	14.5	0.79x	6.7 to 18.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	12.6	18.5	0.68x	7.7 to 19.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	13.4	23.8	0.56x	8.3 to 20.4	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 Ford County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,380.7	9,842.6	-15%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.1	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	74.3	59.8	+24%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.5	6.2	-11%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	71.8	96.9	-26%	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.

Formaldehyde13.61 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.75 per million
Acetaldehyde0.94 per million
Benzene0.55 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 362 days: 325 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 28, peak 115.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing101
NPDES wastewater discharge permit66
Air permit holder (minor source)38
Industrial wastewater discharge37
Brownfield property30
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Small hazardous waste generator11
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)8
TRI reporting facility6
Major air pollution source5
Wind power plant5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Public airport2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Gas power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Wright Ground Water Contamination, Wright
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID KSD984985929 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Koch Fertilizer Dodge City Llc, Dodge City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Methanol, Zinc compounds and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 11,107,388 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67801FRMLN3MILE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.9
Cargill Meat Solutions Corp, Dodge City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Hydrogen sulfide, Nitric acid and 1 more. 2,163,089 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67801XCLCREHIGH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
National Beef Packing Co Llc, Dodge City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Peracetic acid, Nitric acid, Chlorine. 174,007 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67801KYPLN2000E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Koch Nitrogen Company, Llc, Dodge City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021074317 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Cargill Meat Solutions Corp, Dodge City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011879057 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
National Beef Packing - Dodge City, Dodge City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011457538 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Dodge City Concrete, Dodge City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 6 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6780WDDGCT115EW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Rsa Microtech Llc, Dodge City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Ammonia, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Copper compounds and 1 more. 555 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67801RFFNN500ET (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Dodge City Rgnl, Dodge City
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID DDC (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Rsa Microtech Llc, Dodge City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000447268 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.6
Hilmar Cheese Company Dodge City, Dodge City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071310821 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.6
Hi Plains Feed Llc, Wright
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Cobalt, Zinc compounds, Manganese, Copper. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 67801FRMLNEASTH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc. - Dodge City, Dodge City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Lead, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 67801KCHMT2600B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc - Dodge City, Dodge City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039508789 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hilmar Cheese Co Dodge City, Dodge City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 15 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6780WHLMRC181HI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.9
, Dodge City
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 200570002 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3.6
Fort Dodge Station, Dodge City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003167251 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Natural Gas Pipeline Co Of America, Minneola
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008346138 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
National Beef Packing - Dodge City, Dodge City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011457538 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Cargill Meat Solutions Corp, Dodge City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011879057 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Koch Nitrogen Company, Llc, Dodge City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021074317 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Fort Dodge, Dodge City
Gas power plant.
Record ID 1233 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.1
City Of Minneola Property # 5, Minneola
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031006676 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Bucklin Theatre Bta, Bucklin
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045010073 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3

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 Ford 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 Ford 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 Ford County View on the heat map All Kansas counties