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Rush County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Rush County is 162 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 169 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (111), Air permit holder (minor source) (18), Industrial wastewater discharge (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: 38.5292, -99.3095.

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 Rush County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	65.9	51.8	1.27x	39.4 to 110.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	551	453.4	1.22x	453.1 to 666.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	162	143.2	1.13x	115.7 to 225.5	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 Rush County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	17,778.4	9,842.6	+81%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	69	75.3	-8%	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	100.3	96.9	+3%	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.

Formaldehyde13.78 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.8 per million
Acetaldehyde0.99 per million
Benzene0.48 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing111
Air permit holder (minor source)18
Industrial wastewater discharge11
NPDES wastewater discharge permit10
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)5
Gas station (mapped facility)4
Major air pollution source2
Public airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Oil-fired power plant1
Wind power plant1
TRI reporting facility1
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.

Kbk Industries Llc, Rush Center
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 920,659 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6757WKBKND1914U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Kbk Industries - Rush Center, Rush Center
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070306963 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
La Crosse, La Crosse
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1297 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Southern Star Central - Otis Station, Otis
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013947550 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kbk Industries, Rush Center
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022440722 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kbk Industries Llc North Fac, Rush Center
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031423467 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
La Crosse Water Treatment Plant, Lacrosse
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071545801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
La Crosse Water Treatment Plant, Lacrosse
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KS0200006: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
Lacrosse , City Of, Lacrosse
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055488583 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Rush County, La Crosse
Public airport. O.
Record ID K94 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1184683710 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/880410744 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/880410746 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/880410748 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/880410750 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Iacx Energy - Otis Station, Otis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039139492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Mccracken Waste Water Facility C/O City Hall, Mccracken
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010837862 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Barry J Urban, Bison
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011221837 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Otis Waste Water Treatment Facility C/O City Hall, Otis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011222523 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kbk Industries, Rush Center
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022440722 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Messer Llc, Otis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055246336 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rush County Municipal Landfill, Rush Center
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070032196 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ka-5735-01, Rush Center
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071865337 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
4-83 Ka-5736-01, Otis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072102992 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Private Roadway, Albert
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 010253K (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 Rush 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 Rush 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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