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Buchanan County, Missouri: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Buchanan County is 186.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Esophagus deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 561 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (179), Air permit holder (minor source) (79), Rail grade crossing (63). One correctional facility operates in the county. EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 30 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: 39.675, -94.8072.

How this county ranks in Missouri

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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 Buchanan County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	New cases	11.1	6.2	1.79xSignificant	8.2 to 14.6	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	6.4	3.7	1.73xSignificant	4.4 to 9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	51.7	30.2	1.71xSignificant	45.8 to 58.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	87.2	51.8	1.68xSignificant	79.4 to 95.5	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	25.5	16.4	1.55x	15.6 to 39.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.2	3.4	1.53x	3.4 to 7.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7.3	4.8	1.52xSignificant	5.1 to 10.1	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	8.6	5.7	1.51xSignificant	6.2 to 11.8	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	6.6	4.4	1.5x	4.4 to 9.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6.7	4.6	1.46x	4.6 to 9.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	20.5	14.5	1.41xSignificant	16.6 to 25	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	25.4	18.7	1.36xSignificant	21.2 to 30.2	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	5.4	4.1	1.32x	3.5 to 7.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	186.4	143.2	1.3xSignificant	174.8 to 198.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10.8	8.7	1.24x	8.1 to 14.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	22.4	18.5	1.21x	18.4 to 27.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	531	453.4	1.17xSignificant	510.9 to 551.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13	11.3	1.15x	10.1 to 16.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.7	17.9	1.1x	15.9 to 24.1	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	14.2	13	1.09x	10.8 to 18.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.6	13.9	1.05x	11.5 to 18.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.4	6.6	0.97x	4.4 to 9	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.5	6.6	0.83x	3.7 to 8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.7	23.8	0.79x	15.1 to 23	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 Buchanan County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,767.1	9,842.6	+20%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.4	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	75.3	59.8	+26%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.2	6.2	+16%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	92.7	96.9	-4%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	35.1	28.6	+23%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 30 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde18.88 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.77 per million
Naphthalene1.26 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 206 good, 2 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 46, peak 256.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit179
Air permit holder (minor source)79
Rail grade crossing63
Brownfield property39
Gas station (mapped facility)34
Small hazardous waste generator32
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)24
Large hazardous waste generator22
TRI reporting facility20
Combined sewer overflow outfall16
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)13
Industrial wastewater discharge13
Major air pollution source6
Public airport4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Hazardous waste transporter2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Biomass power plant1
Gas 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.

Ag Processing Inc, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Methanol, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 1,834,397 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64504GPRCS900LO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Lake Road Station, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium And Barium Compounds, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 101,069 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64504STJSP1413L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Icm Biofuels Llc, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Methanol, Formaldehyde and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 88,211 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64503LFLNF2811S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Altec Industries Inc, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Manganese, Lead, Nickel and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 65,634 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64507LTCND2106S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Albaugh Inc., Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dimethylamine, 2,4-D 2-ethylhexyl ester, Propiconazole, Dimethylamine dicamba and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 47,679 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64504GLMRC4900P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Life Line Foods Llc St. Joseph, Saint Joseph
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001448498 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.7
Bluescope Buildings N.A. Inc., Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Manganese, Chromium, Nickel and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 11,987 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64504VRCPR2250L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Prime Tanning Corp-St Joseph, St. Joseph
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000443538 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Triumph Foods Llc, Saint Joseph
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110023010007 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Agp - St. Joseph, St. Joseph
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070244161 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Clarios Llc, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Antimony And Antimony Compounds, Arsenic And Arsenic Compounds. Reports carcinogens. 1,872 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64502JHNSN4722P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
The Hillshire Brands St. Joseph Missouri, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 110,105 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64507STJSP5807M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Triumph Foods Llc, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid. 78,319 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64504TRMPH532ST (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Omnium, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Atrazine, Ethylene glycol, Simazine, Naphthalene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 684 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64504FRMLN1417L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Silgan Containers Manufacturing Corp, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, n-Butyl alcohol, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Xylene (mixed isomers). 38,647 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64504SLGNC2115L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Sealed Air Corp, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ozone. 36,570 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64504CRYVC2313L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Albaugh, Llc., St. Joseph
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017982290 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
St. Joseph Pump Station, St. Joseph
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 290210005 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 6.3
Builders Choice, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 191 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6450WBLDRS397S4 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Saint Joseph Sanitary Landfill, St. Joseph
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015884435 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Hillshire Farm & Kahns, Saint Joseph
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012167706 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Hillyard Industries Inc, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, 1,3,4,6,7,8-Hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta[g]-2-benzopyran, Zinc compounds. 15,328 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64501HLLYR402NO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Nestle Purina Petcare, Saint Joseph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Copper compounds, Zinc compounds. Reports carcinogens. 164 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64504FRSKS5402P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Silgan Containers Corp, Saint Joseph
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010816279 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Omnium St.Joseph, Saint Joseph
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017982245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Missouri Dept Of Corrections-Western Rehabilitation Dcc, St. Joseph
EPA FRS registry ID
110001448540
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Buchanan County

Missouri 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 Buchanan County, and their findings.
Missouri vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Missouri health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Missouri 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.
Missouri 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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