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Trego County, Kansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Trego County is 226 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 67 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (34), Air permit holder (minor source) (15), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (6). 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: 38.9248, -99.8729.

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 Trego County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	226	143.2	1.58xSignificant	170.9 to 298.5	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	414	453.4	0.91x	332.7 to 513.5	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 Trego County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	3,929	9,842.6	-60%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	80.3	75.3	+7%	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	71.9	96.9	-26%	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.

Formaldehyde12.61 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.77 per million
Acetaldehyde0.83 per million
Benzene0.42 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 364 days: 275 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 41, peak 116.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing34
Air permit holder (minor source)15
NPDES wastewater discharge permit6
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Industrial wastewater discharge3
Major air pollution source1
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
Wind power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

CEDAR BLUFF
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 201950001 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4
Southern Star Central - Ogallah Station (Air), Ogallah
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013907852 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wakeeney Creamery Bta, Wakeeney
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071963825 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Trego Wakeeney, Wakeeney
Public airport. O.
Record ID 0H1 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wakeeney, City Of, Wakeeney
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039405042 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Nelson Land & Cattle Company, Ellis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011221089 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wakeeney Redi-Mix Inc, Wakeeney
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039405195 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Oneok - Collyer Pump Station (Hydrostatic Test), Collyer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071727348 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
98 C-5291-01 Trego County Off #35, Wakeeney
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071903585 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wakeeney Downtown Streetscape, Wakeeney
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072159023 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
180 Avenue, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815106Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
190 Avenue Or 9 Road, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815107F (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
200 Avenue Or 10 Road, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815108M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
210 Avenue Or 11 Road, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815109U (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
230 Avenue Or 13 Road, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815112C (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
240 Avenue, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815113J (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
S 1st Street, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815114R (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
S 4th Street, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815116E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
S Main St Or N 5th St, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815118T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
S 6th Street, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815120U (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
S 13th St Or Us-283 Hwy, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815122H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
280th Avenue, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815124W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
290 Avenue, Wa Keeney
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815125D (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
300 Avenue, Ogallah
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815126K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
310 Avenue, Ogallah
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815127S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2

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 Trego 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 Trego 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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