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Ness County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ness County is 165.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 106 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (49), Air permit holder (minor source) (31), 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: 38.4791, -99.9165.

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 Ness County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	165.8	143.2	1.16x	118 to 231.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	467.1	453.4	1.03x	370.4 to 583.9	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 Ness County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,843.7	9,842.6	+41%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.1	75.3	-4%	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	175.5	96.9	+81%	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.

Formaldehyde12.93 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.77 per million
Acetaldehyde0.87 per million
Benzene0.46 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing49
Air permit holder (minor source)31
NPDES wastewater discharge permit10
Industrial wastewater discharge8
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Ness City Muni, Ness City
Public airport. O.
Record ID 48K (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/880410740 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/880410743 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
City Of Ransom, Ransom
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011226119 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Concrete Industries - Ness City, Ness City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017607838 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Baker Petrolite - Ness City (Stormwater), Ness City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055259580 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cfmi Dba Wallace Energy - Utica Plant (Stormwater), Utica
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056997736 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cedar Bluff Wind Energy Center, Brownell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064027431 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mid-States Materials - Mccracken Qry, Mccracken
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070825106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cedar Bluff Wind Energy, Llc. (Remaining Site), Brownell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071726081 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ka-6609-02, Ness City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071865938 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wichita Fire Station #23, Wichta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072150470 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ka-5752-01, Bazine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072249451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Private Road, Alexander
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010313S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Road, Alexander
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010314Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Hh Road, Alexander
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010315F (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Gg Road, Bazine
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010316M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Road, Bazine
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010317U (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
K 96 Highway, Bazine
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010318B (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Ff Road, Bazine
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010319H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Road, Bazine
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010320C (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Waumbaugh Street, Bazine
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010322R (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
North Main Street, Bazine
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010323X (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
North Lawrence Street, Bazine
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010324E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Gilmore Street, Bazine
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010325L (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3

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 Ness 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 Ness 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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