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Gove County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Gove County is 146.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 78 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (36), Air permit holder (minor source) (10), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (10). 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: 38.917, -100.4832.

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 Gove County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	473.9	453.4	1.05x	377.5 to 589.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	146.6	143.2	1.02x	101.7 to 209.2	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 Gove County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,854.9	9,842.6	-30%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.1	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	75	96.9	-23%	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.

Formaldehyde11.99 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.74 per million
Acetaldehyde0.79 per million
Benzene0.47 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing36
Air permit holder (minor source)10
NPDES wastewater discharge permit10
Industrial wastewater discharge9
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Public airport4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Western Plains Energy Llc, Oakley
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Formic acid, Acrolein and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 35,943 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67748WSTRN322CU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Western Plains Energy, Llc, Oakley
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016798768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Western Plains Energy, Llc, Oakley
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016798768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Quinter, City Of (Wwtp), Quinter
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006763902 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Gove County, Quinter
Public airport. O.
Record ID 1QK (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
David Heier, Quinter
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010834428 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pioneer Feedyard, Oakley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011220053 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Western Plains Energy, Llc, Oakley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016798768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cfmi Llc Dba Wallace Energy - Oakley Station (Stormwater), Oakley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056997683 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wakeeney Redi Mix - Quinter Plt, Quinter
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059701513 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Brian Ottley, Oakley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071335947 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
City Of Quinter - Water Supply System Improvements, Quinter
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071643908 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
32 C-5333-01 Gove Fas #130, Gove
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071960552 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gove Wind Turbine, Gove
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072257203 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
12 Road, Oakley
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815157J (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
14 Road, Oakley
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815158R (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Field, Oakley
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815159X (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
18 Road, Oakley
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815160S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
20 Road, Grinnell
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815161Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
24 Road, Grinnell
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815162F (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
28 Road, Grinnell
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815163M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Adams Street/Fas 27, Grinnell
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815164U (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
32 Road, Grinnell
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815165B (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
36 Road, Grinnell
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815167P (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
38 Road, Grinnell
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815168W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2

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 Gove 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 Gove 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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