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Carter County, Missouri: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Carter County is 249.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 48 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (24), Air permit holder (minor source) (10), Industrial wastewater discharge (5). 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: 36.9553, -90.9583.

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 Carter County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	91.7	30.2	3.04xSignificant	64.2 to 128.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	123.1	51.8	2.38xSignificant	90.6 to 165.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	249.4	143.2	1.74xSignificant	201.6 to 306.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	629.5	453.4	1.39xSignificant	546.6 to 722.3	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 Carter County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,799.8	9,842.6	+40%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.5	75.3	-5%	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	111.8	96.9	+15%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde19.1 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.86 per million
Pahpom0.69 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit24
Air permit holder (minor source)10
Industrial wastewater discharge5
Public airport3
Gas station (mapped facility)3
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)1
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.

Royal Oak Enterprises Inc Ellsinore, Ellsinore
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $32,813.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000596114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Royal Oak Enterprises-Ellsinore, Ellsinore
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 11,552 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63937RYLKNRT1HW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Ellsinore Municipal Wwtf, Ellsinore
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042622944 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Van Buren Wwtf, Van Buren
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MO0099490: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Ellsinore Municipal Wwtp, Ellsinore
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit MO0104370: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Grandin Pws-Treatment, Grandin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009712668 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Royal Oak Enterprises Inc Ellsinore, Ellsinore
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $32,813.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000596114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Bollinger-Crass Meml, Van Buren
Public airport. O.
Record ID MO5 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1462686329 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Van Buren Wwtf, Van Buren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010323630 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Cane Creek Quarry, Van Buren Quarry, Van Buren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012310221 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Usnps Big Spring Wwtp, Van Buren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009713792 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mcclain Forest Products Llc, Van Buren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009881002 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dale Burkholder Sawmill, Doniphan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011084021 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
South Van Buren Sewer District #1, Van Buren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012306940 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Indian Creek Materials, Hunter Quarry, Ellsinore
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035763144 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Darrel Culpepper, Van Buren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064508992 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Three Oaks Lumber Co, Van Buren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110066879453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Stucker Bro'S Inc., Grandin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067020814 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ozark Heat Pellets, Ellsinore
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067026970 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Politte Ready Mix - Van Buren, Van Buren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069995331 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rmc Plant 59 - Van Buren, Van Buren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070227877 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Royal Oak Enterprises Llc Ellsinore, Ellsinore
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070685818 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mcclain Forest Products Llc, Van Buren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070865435 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Carter County Justice Center, Van Buren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070946036 (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 Carter 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 Carter 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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