KS / county FIPS 20193 / county research

Thomas County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Thomas County is 142.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 148 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (71), Air permit holder (minor source) (21), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (20). 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: 39.3359, -101.0561.

How this county ranks in Kansas

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Thomas County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	142.1	143.2	0.99x	110.9 to 179.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	416.8	453.4	0.92x	357.7 to 483.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	37	51.8	0.71x	22.4 to 58.6	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 Thomas County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,679	9,842.6	-12%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.7	75.3	+3%	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	95	96.9	-2%	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.

Formaldehyde11.28 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.71 per million
Acetaldehyde0.77 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

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

Rail grade crossing71
Air permit holder (minor source)21
NPDES wastewater discharge permit20
Gas station (mapped facility)13
Industrial wastewater discharge10
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Wind power plant2
Commercial airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Gas power plant1
Oil-fired power plant1
Solar power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)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.

Ace Services, Colby
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID KSD046746731 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Colby City Of, Colby
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1272 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Colby, Colby
Gas power plant.
Record ID 1225 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Thomas County Household Hazardous Waste Site, Colby
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044808134 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Colby, City Of, Colby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028289821 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Shalz Fld, Colby
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID CBK (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1263612767 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Federal Express - Zcly, Colby
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071714799 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Citizen'S Health Medical Center, Colby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003143946 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
N. A. Timmerman, Inc., Colby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008345291 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Stephens Farms Inc., Menlo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009742118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
H & H Farms Feed Lot, Colby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011220437 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mccarty Family Farms, Rexford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011220473 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mazanec Cattle Company, Llc, Colby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011222195 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Carpenter Cattle Company, Brewster
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011223602 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Great Plains Spraying, Colby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011473869 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Knox Farms, Inc., Brewster
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015979663 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Schwarz Feedlot Inc., Menlo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022332750 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Walmart Supercenter #1214, Colby
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024433102 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sweet Livestock Farm, Colby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055196023 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Colby Municipal Airport, Shaltz Field, Colby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064506379 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Croell, Inc. - Colby Ready-Mix Facility, Colby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070504899 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Norman Shull, Colby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070561569 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cp Feeders Llc, Brewster
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070598642 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Colby Hotel Developments, Colby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071710640 (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 Thomas 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 Thomas 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.

Scan an address in Thomas County View on the heat map All Kansas counties