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Johnson County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Johnson County is 125.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Brain & nervous system deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 2,201 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (818), Industrial wastewater discharge (466), Air permit holder (minor source) (256). 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: 38.9022, -94.832.

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 Johnson 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	40.1	23.8	1.68xSignificant	38 to 42.3	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.9	4.4	1.34xSignificant	5.1 to 6.7	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.9	6.2	1.27xSignificant	7 to 9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.3	2	1.15x	1.8 to 2.9	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.5	5.7	1.14x	5.7 to 7.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	15.8	14.5	1.09x	14.5 to 17.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.7	18.5	1.06x	18.2 to 21.2	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	17.4	16.4	1.06x	14.2 to 21.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	10.6 to 12.9	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	19.3	18.7	1.03x	17.9 to 20.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	465.1	453.4	1.03xSignificant	457.9 to 472.3	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.1	13	1.01x	11.9 to 14.5	2019-2023
Thyroid	Deaths	0.5	0.5	1x	0.3 to 0.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	13.2	13.9	0.95x	12.1 to 14.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.5	17.9	0.92x	15.2 to 18	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.3	4.8	0.9x	3.6 to 5	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	125.1	143.2	0.87x	121.5 to 128.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.1	3.7	0.84x	2.5 to 3.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.4	6.6	0.82x	4.7 to 6.3	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.2	2.7	0.81x	1.8 to 2.8	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.3	4.1	0.8x	2.7 to 3.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	3.7	4.6	0.8x	3.1 to 4.4	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.3	6.6	0.8x	4.6 to 6.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.7	8.7	0.77x	5.9 to 7.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	23.2	30.2	0.77x	21.7 to 24.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	39.3	51.8	0.76x	37.3 to 41.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	2.4	3.4	0.71x	1.9 to 2.9	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 Johnson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	4,976.6	9,842.6	-49%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	80.6	75.3	+7%	years
Child mortality	39.4	59.8	-34%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	3.9	6.2	-37%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	58	96.9	-40%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	15.4	28.6	-46%	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.

Formaldehyde20.3 per million
Ethylene Oxide3.88 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.94 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 250 good, 3 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 44, peak 188.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

2,201 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit818
Industrial wastewater discharge466
Air permit holder (minor source)256
Gas station (mapped facility)154
Rail grade crossing116
Small hazardous waste generator114
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)106
Large hazardous waste generator54
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)31
TRI reporting facility26
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)13
Brownfield property11
Major air pollution source9
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Public airport3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Heliport3
Commercial airport2
Crematorium (mapped facility)2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Gas power plant2
Superfund (NPL) site2
EPA air quality monitor1
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.

Chemical Commodities, Inc., Olathe
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID KSD031349624 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Doepke Disposal (Holliday), Johnson County
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 47.5. NPL Site.
EPA site ID KSD980632301 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Packaging Products, Mission
Major air pollution source. Penalties $182,879.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000793188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Spx Cooling Technologies, Olathe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Manganese, Copper and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,363 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66061MRLYCMARLE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Packaging Products, Mission
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $182,879.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000793188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Arrow Material Handling, Lenexa
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Lead, Copper, Triglycidyl isocyanurate and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 403 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66219RRWMT16W18 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Geiger Ready Mix, Olathe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium, Lead, Mercury, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 112 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6606WGGRRD875EH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Rimpull Corporation (Stormwater), Olathe
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018853098 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Nazdar Shawnee, Shawnee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers. 6,821 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66227KCCTN8501H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Nazdar, Shawnee
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445732 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Pennys Concrete, Shawnee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 37 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6622WPNNYS2337W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
HERITAGE PARK
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 200910010 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5.6
Century Concrete Inc Olathe Facility, Olathe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. 1,946 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66061CNTRY1340W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Century Concrete Inc Olathe Facility, Olathe
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009969089 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Concrete Materials Inc, Merriam
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 12 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6620WCNCRT99WES (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Spx Cooling Tech, Llc, Olathe
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057582904 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Kocher + Beck Usa Lp, Lenexa
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chlorine. 1,030 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6621WKCHRB1585W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Pennys Concrete, New Century
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 10 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6603WPNNYS16741 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Arrow Material Handling Products, Lenexa
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003168731 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Universal Engraving Inc, Overland Park
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper. 425 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66214NVRSL9090N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5
Asphalt Sales - Olathe, Olathe
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $84,923.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001240899 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Gardner - Kill Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility Wrrf (Wwtp), Gardner
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017445040 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Joco Mill Creek Regional (Wwtp), Shawnee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064604478 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Audubon Readymix Llc Dba Quicksilver Readymix - Olathe, Olathe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead compounds. 338 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 66061LFRGN1245W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Universal Engraving Inc, Overland Park
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000445689 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9

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 Johnson 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 Johnson 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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