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Morton County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Morton County is 193.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 116 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (64), Rail grade crossing (28), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (11). 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: 37.1923, -101.7989.

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 Morton County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	193.1	143.2	1.35x	136.3 to 269.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	442.9	453.4	0.98x	348.4 to 557.4	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 Morton County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,546	9,842.6	+17%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74	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	129.9	96.9	+34%	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 Tetrachloride2.65 per million
Acetaldehyde0.74 per million
Benzene0.41 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)64
Rail grade crossing28
NPDES wastewater discharge permit11
Industrial wastewater discharge9
Major air pollution source2
Commercial airport1
Gas station (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.

Et Gathering & Processing - Greenwood #2 Station (Air), Elkhart
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010422916 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Colorado Interstate Gas - Morton Co Station (Air), Elkhart
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013908511 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Elkhart-Morton County, Elkhart
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID EHA (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Flatland Hogs, Llc, Rolk
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011221711 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Seaboard Foods - Feterita, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011222051 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Seaboard Foods- Coen #227 & #228, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011222658 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Smith Brothers Feeders Llc, Elkhart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011224905 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Seaboard Foods - Thomason, Elkhart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015979128 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Seaboard Foods Llc 101-105 & 107, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015979672 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Seaboard Foods Llc - Light Nursery #106, Richfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015979690 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Seaboard Foods Llc - Dunn #127, Richfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055196096 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Morton County Dairy, Richfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067592858 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Croell, Inc. - Elkhart Ready-Mix Plant, Elkhart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070501819 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Prairie Valley Biogas, Llc (Stormwater), Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071867243 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Road 1, Rolla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 013230N (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
27 Road, Rolla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 013231V (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
26 Road, Rolla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 013232C (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
25 Road, Rolla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 013233J (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
K-51 Highway, Rolla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 013234R (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Rolla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 013235X (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Eisenhower Street, Rolla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 013236E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
23 Road, Rolla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 013237L (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
22 Road, Rolla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 013238T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
J Boulevard, Rolla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 013239A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
20 Road, Rolla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 013240U (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 Morton 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 Morton 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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