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Jefferson County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Jefferson County is 164.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 132 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (35), Industrial wastewater discharge (31), Rail grade crossing (24). 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: 39.2235, -95.3849.

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 Jefferson 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	47.2	23.8	1.98xSignificant	35 to 62.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41	30.2	1.36xSignificant	31.1 to 53.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	18.7	14.5	1.29x	11.8 to 28.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	164.1	143.2	1.15x	142.4 to 188.5	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	20.6	18.7	1.1x	13.7 to 30.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	56.2	51.8	1.08x	44.6 to 70.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	474.3	453.4	1.05x	436.1 to 515.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.8	18.5	0.91x	10.6 to 26	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 Jefferson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,032.4	9,842.6	-8%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.5	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	54.8	59.8	-8%	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	98.1	96.9	+1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	17.9	28.6	-37%	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.

Formaldehyde17.73 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.61 per million
Benzene0.83 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit35
Industrial wastewater discharge31
Rail grade crossing24
Air permit holder (minor source)17
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Public airport5
Major air pollution source2
Brownfield property2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
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.

Jefferson County Ready Mix Concrete Plant 23, Perry
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 29 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6607WJFFRS778LE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Forterra Concrete Products - Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 6606WFRTRR515US (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Hamm Sanitary Landfill, Lawrence
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,206.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007364495 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Lakewood Hills Improvement District (Wwtp), Ozawkie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011221187 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Lawrence Rng Llc, Lawrence
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070005193 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Hamm Sanitary Landfill, Lawrence
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $4,206.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007364495 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Nortonville, City Of (Wwtp), Nortonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071711379 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Perry, City Of-Tp001, Perry
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013029579 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Lawrence Rng Llc, Lawrence
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070005193 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Youth Extended Services -- Bta, Mc Louth
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017559532 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
City Of Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965944 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Meriden Sewer Treatment Plant C/O City Hall, Meriden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011225389 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Mclouth Sewer Treatment Plant C/O City Hall, Mclouth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011226164 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Jefferson Cnty Hhw, Oskaloosa
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046087042 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Anderson'S Mobile Home Park (Wwtp), Meriden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011225003 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Valley Falls Waste Water Treatment Plant C/O City Hall, Valley Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011226681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Oskaloosa, City Of (Wwtp), Oskaloosa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009967919 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Jefferson County Sewer District 7, Ozawkie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011221267 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Winchester Waste Water Treatment Facility C/O City Hall, Winchester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009741681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Jeff Co. S.D. #2 - Indian Ridge, Ozawkie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110023139325 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Jefferson County Sewer District Number 6
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1127618704 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Perry, City Of (Wwtp), Perry
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009968035 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
N R Hamm Quarry, Lawrence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011219993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ernest-Spencer Metals, Meriden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015591732 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Jefferson County Rwd #13, Lawrence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017542364 (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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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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