KS / county FIPS 20061 / county research

Geary County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Geary County is 169.3 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 2.1 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 464 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (298), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (50), Industrial wastewater discharge (36). 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: 39.0444, -96.7321.

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 Geary County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	62.7	30.2	2.08xSignificant	49.3 to 78.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	89.7	51.8	1.73xSignificant	73.1 to 108.6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	19.3	13	1.48x	12.2 to 28.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	541.7	453.4	1.19xSignificant	500.3 to 585.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	169.3	143.2	1.18xSignificant	146.7 to 194.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	15	14.5	1.03x	8.9 to 23.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.2	18.7	1.03x	12.1 to 28.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.7	18.5	0.96x	10.9 to 26.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.3	17.9	0.91x	9.7 to 25.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	14.7	23.8	0.62x	8.9 to 22.8	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 Geary County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,126.6	9,842.6	+23%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.7	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	75.3	59.8	+26%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.4	6.2	-14%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	85.1	96.9	-12%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	21.2	28.6	-26%	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.

Formaldehyde16.94 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde1.45 per million
Benzene0.81 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)298
NPDES wastewater discharge permit50
Industrial wastewater discharge36
Rail grade crossing26
Gas station (mapped facility)18
Brownfield property15
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
TRI reporting facility3
Major air pollution source2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
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.

Us Army Fort Riley-Garrison, Fort Riley
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead, Nitroglycerin, Lead compounds. Reports carcinogens. 211,290 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66442SDDSRAFZNE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Fort Riley, Army, Fort Riley
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020842310 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Smithfield Meats, Junction City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 17,381 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66441RMRSW1920L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Armour Eckrich Meats Llc, Junction City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445741 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Plant #9, Junction City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 20 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6644WPLNTX2829A (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Camso Manufacturing Usa Ltd Junction City Div, Junction City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sodium nitrite, Zinc compounds. 1,048 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6644WCMSMN2925I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Camso Manufacturing Usa Ltd Junction City Division, Junction City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070631093 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Junction City Wastewater Department, Junction City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002045750 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Fort Riley, Army, Fort Riley
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020842310 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Kdwp&T - Milford Fish Hatchery, Junction City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017465303 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Fort Riley, Army, Fort Riley
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020842310 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Fort Riley, Army, Fort Riley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020842310 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Armour Eckrich Meats Llc, Junction City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445741 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Junction City, City Of (Ms4), Junction City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070500661 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Bitterman-Button, Junction City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024614960 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Site 1 - 617 N Washington St, Junction City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976635 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
110 Grant Avenue, Junction City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977371 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
1841 N Washington St, Junction City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977372 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Site 2 - 620 N Washington St, Junction City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977595 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Site 3 - 622 N Washington St, Junction City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977596 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Site 4.1 - Godfrey'S Open Lot 1, Junction City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977597 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Site 4.2 - Godfrey'S Open Lot 2, Junction City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977598 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Site 4.3 - Godfrey'S Open Lot 3, Junction City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977599 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Site 4.5 - Godfrey'S Open Lot 5, Junction City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977600 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Site 4.6 - Godfrey'S Open Lot 6, Junction City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977601 (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 Geary 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 Geary 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 Geary County View on the heat map All Kansas counties