MO / county FIPS 29177 / county research

Ray County, Missouri: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ray County is 200.8 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 2 times the U.S. rate and Pancreas deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 194 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (96), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (42), Air permit holder (minor source) (14). 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: 39.3236, -93.9856.

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Ray County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	60.9	30.2	2.02xSignificant	49.5 to 74.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	90.6	51.8	1.75xSignificant	76.6 to 106.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	17.7	11.3	1.57xSignificant	11.8 to 25.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9.4	6.6	1.42x	5.3 to 15.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	200.8	143.2	1.4xSignificant	179.3 to 224.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	19.8	14.5	1.37x	13 to 29.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21	17.9	1.17x	14 to 30.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.6	18.5	1.11x	14 to 29.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.1	13.9	1.09x	9.8 to 22.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	429.1	453.4	0.95x	396.5 to 463.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.9	18.7	0.9x	11.4 to 24.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	14.4	23.8	0.61x	8.8 to 22.4	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 Ray County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,052.2	9,842.6	+12%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.1	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	53.1	59.8	-11%	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	106.2	96.9	+9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	18.8	28.6	-34%	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.

Formaldehyde18.56 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde1.8 per million
Benzene0.94 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing96
NPDES wastewater discharge permit42
Air permit holder (minor source)14
Industrial wastewater discharge14
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Public airport5
Small hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Brownfield property1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Scrapyard (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.

Arnette Polymers Llc, Richmond
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $48,636.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000442913 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.8
Arnette Polymers Llc, Richmond
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Epichlorohydrin, Nonylphenol, Isobutyraldehyde, Diethanolamine and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 61,122 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64085PCFCP8905W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Arnette Polymers Llc, Richmond
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $48,636.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000442913 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Arnette Polymers Llc, Richmond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $48,636.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000442913 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Orbseal Llc-Richmond, Richmond
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008993722 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Arnette Polymers Llc, Richmond
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $48,636.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000442913 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Henkel Us Operations Corp, Richmond
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Thiram. 391 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64085RBSLL21HWY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5
Homestead Village Wwtp, Excelsior Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009876483 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Southview Pool, Richmond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011106784 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mawc, Wood Heights Wwtp, Excelsior Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042655597 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Excelsior Estates Wwtp, Lawson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042676789 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Elkhorn Elementary School Wwtf, Excelsior Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070155119 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Vit A Zine Farm Supply, Lawson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070743532 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Arnette Enterprises Inc, Richmond
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015852219 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Mawc, Orrick Wwtf, Orrick
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009878472 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Hardin Pws, Hardin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009877393 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Lawson Supermarket, Lawson
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071987502 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Rhino Linings Corp., Richmond
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates.
TRI facility ID 6408WRNTTL12MAI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Richmond South Wwtp, Richmond
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MO0100200: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Richmond South Wwtp, Richmond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009873583 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Cpwsd #2 Of Ray County, Richmond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015975532 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Mawc, Orrick Wwtf, Orrick
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit MO0022918: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
Mawc, Wood Heights Wwtp, Woods Heights
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MO0036218: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Countryside Meadows Wwtf, Orrick
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009868526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Fence Stile Vineyards And Winery, Excelsior Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070248766 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5

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 Ray 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 Ray 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.

Scan an address in Ray County View on the heat map All Missouri counties