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Butler County, Missouri: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Butler County is 199.4 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 2.2 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 270 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (109), Rail grade crossing (59), Air permit holder (minor source) (41). 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: 36.7133, -90.3904.

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 Butler County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	Deaths	8	3.7	2.16xSignificant	4.9 to 12.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	61.1	30.2	2.02xSignificant	52.5 to 70.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	88.3	51.8	1.7xSignificant	77.9 to 99.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.8	4.8	1.42x	4.1 to 10.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	199.4	143.2	1.39xSignificant	183.3 to 216.7	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.9	4.4	1.34x	3.3 to 9.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6	4.6	1.3x	3.4 to 9.9	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	5.2	4.1	1.27x	3 to 8.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.4	17.9	1.25x	16.7 to 29.6	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.2	6.2	1.16x	4.1 to 11.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.4	11.3	1.1x	8.7 to 17.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.2	6.6	1.09x	4.5 to 11.1	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.2	5.7	1.09x	3.6 to 10.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	482.1	453.4	1.06xSignificant	456 to 509.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.9	18.5	0.97x	13.2 to 23.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12	13.9	0.86x	8.4 to 16.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.1	13	0.85x	7 to 16.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.3	8.7	0.84x	4.6 to 11.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.1	18.7	0.81x	11 to 20.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11.3	14.5	0.78x	7.5 to 16.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	11.8	23.8	0.5x	8 to 17	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 Butler County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,691.2	9,842.6	+59%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.1	75.3	-7%	years
Child mortality	87.9	59.8	+47%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.1	6.2	+30%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	115.8	96.9	+19%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	45.9	28.6	+60%	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.

Formaldehyde21.57 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde2.16 per million
Benzene0.84 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit109
Rail grade crossing59
Air permit holder (minor source)41
Industrial wastewater discharge23
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Small hazardous waste generator7
TRI reporting facility4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Major air pollution source2
Public airport2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
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.

Briggs & Stratton Llc, Poplar Bluff
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Nitric acid, Copper, Lead And Lead Compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 4,631 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63901BRGGSHWY14 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Us Army National Guard Wappapello Ts Ranges, Wappapello
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 414 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6396WWPPPL461CU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Emrt Poplar Bluff Cs, Poplar Bluff
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009036612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Emrt Poplar Bluff Cs, Poplar Bluff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009036612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Briggs And Stratton Llc, Poplar Bluff
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011075772 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Wappapello Training Site, Wappapello
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042798880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Fisk Pws-Treatment Plant, Fisk
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009874948 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
East Butler County Sewer District Wwtp, Poplar Bluff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010120939 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Gates Corporation Poplar Bluff Division, Poplar Bluff
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011105106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Indian Creek Meats, Poplar Bluff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070876889 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Rowe Furniture Corp-Poplar Bluff, Poplar Bluff
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011083442 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Mid Continent Steel & Wire Inc, Poplar Bluff
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Manganese And Manganese Compounds. 11 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63901RWFRN2700C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.8
Bullwinkles Rustic Lodge Wwtf, Poplar Bluff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020155598 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Poplar Bluff Municipal Utilities Generating Plant, Poplar Bluff
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001460507 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Poplar Bluff Municipal Wwtp, Poplar Bluff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039777952 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Neelyville Wwtf, Neelyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010299523 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Briggs And Stratton Llc, Poplar Bluff
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011075772 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Poplar Bluff Generating Station, Poplar Bluff
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7392 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Oak Street City Hall, Poplar Bluff
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071987309 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ballard R-Ii School Wwtf, Butler
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017366884 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Poplar Bluff Municipal Wwtp, Poplar Bluff
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MO0043648: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Gates Corp, Poplar Bluff
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 63901GTSRB1650R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Qulin Wwtf, Qulin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009874617 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Butler County Pwsd 3-Butler Co Pwsd - Treatment Plant, Broseley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012961606 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Hillview Elementary School Wwtf, Harviell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013676664 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8

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 Butler 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 Butler 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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