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Phelps County, Missouri: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Phelps County is 160.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 321 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (141), Rail grade crossing (59), Industrial wastewater discharge (27). 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: 37.8779, -91.7751.

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 Phelps County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.8	3.4	1.71x	3.4 to 9.3	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	7.5	4.6	1.63xSignificant	4.7 to 11.5	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.9	4.4	1.34x	3.3 to 9.9	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.9	6.2	1.27x	4.7 to 12.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66	51.8	1.27xSignificant	57 to 76.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7.2	5.7	1.26x	4.5 to 11.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	22.4	18.5	1.21x	16.9 to 29.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.6	4.8	1.17x	3.2 to 9.3	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	14.6	13	1.12x	9.9 to 20.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	160.8	143.2	1.12xSignificant	146.2 to 176.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19	17.9	1.06x	13.9 to 25.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	476.3	453.4	1.05x	449.8 to 504	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.4	18.7	1.04x	14.5 to 25.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.7	13.9	0.99x	9.6 to 19	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.4	23.8	0.98x	17.6 to 30.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.3	6.6	0.95x	3.8 to 10	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	10.6	11.3	0.94x	7.2 to 15.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.3	30.2	0.94x	22.5 to 35.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.5	8.7	0.86x	4.6 to 11.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.2	14.5	0.84x	8.4 to 17.3	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 Phelps County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,368.6	9,842.6	+26%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.1	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	67.6	59.8	+13%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8	6.2	+28%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	108.1	96.9	+11%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	54.2	28.6	+90%	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.

Formaldehyde18.8 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde1.87 per million
Naphthalene1.03 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit141
Rail grade crossing59
Industrial wastewater discharge27
Gas station (mapped facility)24
Air permit holder (minor source)22
Small hazardous waste generator15
Brownfield property6
Public airport5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Major air pollution source2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Heliport1
Solar 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.

St. James Wwtp, St. James
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039776114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Catalytic Innovations, Rolla
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Ammonia, Cobalt, Molybdenum trioxide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 20 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 65401RMTLN11601 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Catalytic Innovations - North Plant, Rolla
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071395689 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Catalytic Innovations, Llc, Rolla
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057316364 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Newburg Wwtp, Newburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006731233 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Lakeside Estates Hoa Wwtf, Newburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009872469 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Edgar Springs Wwtp, Edgar Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009872593 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Kvc, Saint James
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013054336 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Lakeside Community, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064336339 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ozark Country Meats And Processing, St. James
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071436032 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Northwye Mhp Wwtf, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006824892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Shady Lane Trailer Park, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013053275 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Royal Canin Usa Inc-Rolla, Rolla
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003970597 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Rolla Pws-Well 4 - E 10th St, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006367216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Manchester Packaging Company, St James
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001461212 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Lakewood Courts Wwtf, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006729843 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Pcpwsd No. 2 Summer Field Subd Wwtp, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009713587 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Phelps Connections For Seniors Wwtf, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110029519803 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Deer Run Apartments Wwtf, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042676547 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Spencer Manor Vineyards And Winery Llc, Saint James
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071310405 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Pcpwsd No 2 Forest Lakes Subd Wwtp, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009713621 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Pcpwsd No. 2 Country Club Terrace Wwtp, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009713630 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Pcpwsd No. 2 College Hills North Wwtp, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024404544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wisdom Roofing Supply, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031276429 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ridge Creek Estates Wwtp, Rolla
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040334929 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

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 Phelps 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 Phelps 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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