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Russell County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Russell County is 173.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 136 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (49), Air permit holder (minor source) (24), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (19). 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: 38.9112, -98.7623.

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 Russell County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	27.1	18.7	1.45x	15.7 to 46.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	65.2	51.8	1.26x	46.6 to 91	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	173.1	143.2	1.21x	136.2 to 217.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	495.2	453.4	1.09x	430.9 to 567.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.9	30.2	0.99x	18.1 to 49.2	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 Russell County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,340.1	9,842.6	+5%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.8	75.3	-1%	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	109.1	96.9	+13%	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.

Formaldehyde14.33 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.83 per million
Acetaldehyde1.08 per million
Benzene0.53 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

136 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)24
NPDES wastewater discharge permit19
Industrial wastewater discharge17
Gas station (mapped facility)8
Public airport3
Brownfield property3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Gas power plant2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Major air pollution source1
Airfield1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Small hazardous waste generator1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Purefield Ingredients Co-Products Facility, Russell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, Acrolein, Formaldehyde, n-Hexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 122,360 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67665SNRGY1224E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Great Plains Manufacturing Inc Lucas, Lucas
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 391 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 67648GRTPL240SO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Us Energy Partners Llc Dba White Energy, Russell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016688011 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Purefield Ingredients, Russell
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003213273 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gorham Wastewater Plant, Gorham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055366456 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Russell Downtown, Russell
Gas power plant.
Record ID 1319 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Russell Energy Center, Russell
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7930 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Lucas, City Of, Lucas
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022844975 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lucas City Building, Lucas
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972392 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Historic Blacksmith Bta, Russell
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983524 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Purefield Ingredients, Russell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003213273 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Russell, City Of (Wwtp), Russell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009966830 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Us Energy Partners Llc Dba White Energy, Russell
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016688011 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Lucas, Lucas
Public airport. O.
Record ID 38K (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Russell Muni, Russell
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID RSL (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1172872429 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1185206201 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1264355157 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Abco Wire & Metal Products (Stormwater), Russell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000890046 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
National Ave. (13th - 6th), Lucas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003184544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Land Pride A Division Of Great Plains Mfg Inc, Lucas
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017375945 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Land Pride A Division Of Great Plains Mfg Inc, Lucas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017375945 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lucas, City Of, Lucas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022844975 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Purefield Ingredients (Stormwater), Russell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033113949 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Apac Kansas - Keil Pit (Stormwater), Russell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055222441 (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 Russell 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 Russell 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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