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Franklin County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Franklin County is 185.4 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 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 276 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (66), Industrial wastewater discharge (63), Rail grade crossing (52). 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: 38.5609, -95.2869.

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 Franklin 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	37.3	23.8	1.57xSignificant	27.8 to 48.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	45.2	30.2	1.5xSignificant	35.6 to 56.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	26.6	17.9	1.49xSignificant	19 to 36.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	70.1	51.8	1.35xSignificant	58.1 to 84.1	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	17.2	13	1.32x	10.5 to 26.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	185.4	143.2	1.29xSignificant	164.8 to 208	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	17.8	13.9	1.28x	11.6 to 26.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14.4	11.3	1.27x	9 to 22	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	559.5	453.4	1.23xSignificant	522.7 to 598.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.5	8.7	1.09x	5.3 to 16	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.8	14.5	1.02x	9.5 to 22.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18	18.7	0.96x	12.2 to 25.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.9	18.5	0.75x	8.5 to 21.6	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 Franklin County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,277.2	9,842.6	-6%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75	75.3	-0%	years
Child mortality	66.8	59.8	+12%	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	88.5	96.9	-9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	21.9	28.6	-23%	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.

Formaldehyde17.86 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.64 per million
Benzene0.91 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit66
Industrial wastewater discharge63
Rail grade crossing52
Air permit holder (minor source)25
Brownfield property18
Gas station (mapped facility)17
Small hazardous waste generator8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
Major air pollution source5
Public airport4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
TRI reporting facility2
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Gas 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.

Lta Ii Manufacturing Llc, Ottawa
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 95,146 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6606WSTRTR81EAS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Schuff Steel Midwest, Ottawa
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 180 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66067HVNSS2001D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Lta Ii Manufacturing Llc, Ottawa
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070736230 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Schuff Steel Midwest, Ottawa
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445313 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Builders Choice, Ottawa
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 4 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6606WBLDRS745NL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Schuff Steel Midwest, Ottawa
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445313 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ottawa, City Of (Wwtp), Ottawa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017544549 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Schuff Steel Midwest, Ottawa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445313 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kpc Pipeline - Ottawa Station (Air), Ottawa
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010397999 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc., Ottawa
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017493611 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ottawa Muni. Power Plant, Ottawa
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017544558 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Lta Ii Manufacturing Llc, Ottawa
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070736230 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ottawa, Ottawa
Gas power plant.
Record ID 1316 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Ottawa University Bta, Ottawa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003213433 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Skyhook Bta, Ottawa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071964596 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Swan Arts Center, Ottawa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965942 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
124 S Main, Ottawa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965943 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Ame Church, Ottawa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971295 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Kanza Park Bta, Ottawa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971523 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ottawa Enterprise Bta #1, Ottawa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971524 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ottawa Enterprise Bta #2, Ottawa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971525 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ottawa Enterprise Bta #3, Ottawa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971526 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ottawa Enterprise Bta #4, Ottawa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971527 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ottawa North Street Bta #1, Ottawa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971528 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ottawa North Street Bta #2, Ottawa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971529 (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 Franklin 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 Franklin 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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