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Norton County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Norton County is 119.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 121 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (49), Industrial wastewater discharge (26), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (21). 2 correctional facilities operate in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. 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: 39.8058, -99.9036.

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 Norton County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	47.6	51.8	0.92x	27.7 to 77.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	119.1	143.2	0.83x	87.3 to 160.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	353.1	453.4	0.78x	293.7 to 422	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 Norton County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,015.2	9,842.6	-29%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.8	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	100.9	96.9	+4%	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.

Formaldehyde12.49 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.78 per million
Acetaldehyde0.85 per million
Benzene0.5 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing49
Industrial wastewater discharge26
NPDES wastewater discharge permit21
Air permit holder (minor source)13
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Brownfield property2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)2
Public airport1
Commercial 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.

Norton Correctional Facility, Norton
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110009572186 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Former H&J Repair Bta, Norton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041307118 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
City Of Norton - East Development, Norton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971934 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Norton, City Of (Wwtp), Norton
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KS0097730: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Norton, City Of (Wwtp), Norton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028289787 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Norton Muni, Norton
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID NRN (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Almena Wastewater Plant, Almena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022847776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Nelson Hog Farms, Llc Â Site E, Almena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010838086 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nelson Hog Farm Llc - Site C, Almena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011221418 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
County Line Feeders, Almena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011222907 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Norton Co. Hospital, Norton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013328130 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Renner Jcp Hogs, Norton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015979342 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
David Ranch & Feedlot, Lenora
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015983202 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Norton Correctional Facility, Norton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022847455 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Norton Water Treatment Plant, Norton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028289885 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Esslinger Ranch, Inc., Norton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055200606 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Calvert Swine Llc, Almena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055203275 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
C & M Starters, Norton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058289481 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Norton County Municipal Landfill (Stormwater), Norton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110066897647 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Stillwater Swine, Almena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070263412 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rolling Hills Pork, Llc, Almena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070263938 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gosselin Addition, Norton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071729698 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
U283-106- Ka 7574-01, Edmond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071953051 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
New Age Industrial Corporation, Norton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072000934 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ka-2371-03, Almena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072075720 (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.

Norton Correctional Facility, Norton
EPA FRS registry ID
110009572186
Water system
KS2013704
Health-based violations
2 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
18
Contaminants cited
Arsenic, Groundwater Rule
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Norton Correctional Facility, Norton
EPA FRS registry ID
110022847455
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Norton 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 Norton 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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