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Nemaha County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Nemaha County is 161.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 162 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (53), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (30), Air permit holder (minor source) (28). 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: 39.78, -96.0143.

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 Nemaha 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	66.6	23.8	2.8xSignificant	46.1 to 93.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	161.9	143.2	1.13x	134.1 to 194.4	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	451.2	453.4	1x	398.9 to 508.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.2	30.2	0.97x	18.5 to 44.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	45.3	51.8	0.87x	31.1 to 64.6	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 Nemaha County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,113.7	9,842.6	-48%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79	75.3	+5%	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	76.7	96.9	-21%	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.

Formaldehyde16.15 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde1.38 per million
Benzene0.64 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing53
NPDES wastewater discharge permit30
Air permit holder (minor source)28
Industrial wastewater discharge28
Public airport5
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Brownfield property2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Oil-fired power plant1
Wind power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
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.

Midwest Ready Mix & Building Supplies, Sabetha
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 3 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6653WMDWST1EMAI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5
Sabetha Power Plant, Sabetha
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1320 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Koch & Co. - Seneca (111 N 1st), Seneca
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003205200 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Goff Wastewater Plant, Goff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011225469 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Sabetha, City Of, Sabetha
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024400600 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Usc, Llc (Stormwater), Sabetha
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031364510 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Koch & Co. - Seneca (111 N 1st), Seneca
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003205200 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Koch Millwork, Seneca
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070458549 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
City Of Seneca Bta, Seneca
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015334119 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Seneca Swimming Pool, Seneca
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037064529 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Baileyville Improvement Dis #1 Charles Koch, Baileyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009967517 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Bern, City Of (Wwtp), Bern
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011225432 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Corning Waste Water Treatment Plant, Corning
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009967688 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Centralia Waste Water Treatment Plant C/O City Hall, Centralia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011224335 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Seneca, City Of (Wwtp), Seneca
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011225511 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Seneca Muni, Seneca
Public airport. O.
Record ID 62K (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1356839093 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1462909298 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1462915345 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Seneca Ready Mix Concrete Inc., Seneca
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001244190 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Oneida, City Of (Wwtp), Oneida
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011221873 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
J-Six Enterprises Llc-South Farm, Corning
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011223185 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nemaha County C&D Landfill, Unknown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017440367 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Haverkamp Brothers Inc-Home Farm, Bern
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024644508 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Darling International - Seneca, Seneca
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024670630 (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 Nemaha 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 Nemaha 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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