MO / county FIPS 29510 / county research

St. Louis city, Missouri: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in St. Louis city is 163.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,521 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Brownfield property (367), Air permit holder (minor source) (320), Rail grade crossing (167). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 40 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: 38.6516, -90.241.

How this county ranks in Missouri

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 St. Louis city compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.8	6.6	1.33xSignificant	7.5 to 10.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39.9	30.2	1.32xSignificant	36.9 to 43.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66	51.8	1.27xSignificant	62.1 to 70.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10.8	8.7	1.24xSignificant	9.4 to 12.5	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.5	3.7	1.22x	3.6 to 5.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	13.4	11.3	1.19xSignificant	11.7 to 15.3	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	3.1	2.7	1.15x	2.3 to 4.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	163.1	143.2	1.14xSignificant	156.8 to 169.5	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.1	4.6	1.11x	4 to 6.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.8	17.9	1.11x	17.7 to 22.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.6	3.4	1.06x	2.7 to 4.7	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	6.8	6.6	1.03x	5.6 to 8.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.1	13.9	1.01x	12.3 to 16.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	423.6	453.4	0.93x	413.5 to 433.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.6	6.2	0.9x	4.4 to 6.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	4.7	5.7	0.82x	3.7 to 6	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.3	4.1	0.8x	2.5 to 4.3	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.5	4.4	0.8x	2.7 to 4.6	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	12.5	16.4	0.76x	8.4 to 17.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.2	18.7	0.76x	12.4 to 16.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	10.3	14.5	0.71x	8.7 to 12	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.4	2	0.7x	0.9 to 2.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	3.2	4.8	0.67x	2.4 to 4.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	11.8	18.5	0.64x	10.2 to 13.6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	6.9	13	0.53x	5.7 to 8.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	10.6	23.8	0.45x	9 to 12.4	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 St. Louis city
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,768.4	9,842.6	+60%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.5	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	123.8	59.8	+107%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.9	6.2	+44%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	198.6	96.9	+105%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	101.8	28.6	+256%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 40 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde23.18 per million
Naphthalene2.96 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde2.2 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 125 good, 8 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 55, peak 738.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,521 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Brownfield property367
Air permit holder (minor source)320
Rail grade crossing167
Small hazardous waste generator113
Combined sewer overflow outfall109
NPDES wastewater discharge permit91
Gas station (mapped facility)79
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)59
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)47
TRI reporting facility40
Large hazardous waste generator34
Major air pollution source16
Scrapyard (mapped facility)15
Industrial wastewater discharge14
Hazardous waste transporter12
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)9
Large greenhouse gas emitter7
Heliport7
EPA air quality monitor4
Crematorium (mapped facility)4
Gas power plant2
Solar power plant2
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Oil-fired 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.

Schaeffer Manufacturing, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Xylene (mixed isomers), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Naphthalene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 120,667 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63104SCHFF102BA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Brenntag Mid-South Inc, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Xylene (mixed isomers), Toluene, Certain glycol ethers and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 97,478 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63111HCCHM139ES (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Branch Street, St. Louis
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 295100093 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 8.3
Precoat Metals, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Certain glycol ethers, Ethylene glycol, n-Butyl alcohol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 69,143 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63116PRCTM4301S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Shelter Works, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate. Reports carcinogens. 68,744 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63118SHLTR2616S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
U.S. Paint Corp, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Methyl isobutyl ketone, Cyclohexane, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 44,976 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63103SPNTD831SO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Chemisphere Corp, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dichloromethane, Methanol, Toluene, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 42,511 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63139CHMSP211CL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Sigma-Aldrich Manufacturing Llc, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Chloroform, Dichloromethane, Ammonia and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 42,031 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63118SGMCH3500D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Univar Solutions Usa, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, n-Hexane, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 38,659 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63111SHLND7710P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Elantas Pdg Inc, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, Styrene, Phenol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 34,874 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63147PDGRG5200N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Trans Chemical Inc, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, n-Hexane, Toluene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 30,579 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63147TRNSC419EA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Mallinckrodt, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, Chloroform, N,N-Dimethylformamide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 15,172 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63147MLLNC3600N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
J D Streett & Co Inc, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Benzene, Cyclohexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 10,962 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63118JDSTR3800S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Chemline Inc, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol, Xylene (mixed isomers), Toluene, Ethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 9,724 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63115CHMLN5151N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Kop-Coat Inc, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Propiconazole, 3-Iodo-2-propynyl butylcarbamate, Nonylphenol Ethoxylates, Nitrilotriacetic acid. Reports carcinogens. 8,122 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63110KPCTN5137S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Elementis Specialties Inc, St. Louis
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $26,250.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000441004 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Elementis Specialties Inc., Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, Zinc compounds, Certain glycol ethers and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,600 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63110NLCHM5548M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Precoat Metals, St. Louis
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $73,733.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000441255 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Us Polymers - Accurez Llc, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, Phthalic anhydride, Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 4,984 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63111SPLYM300EA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Agraform, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chlorothalonil, Thiodicarb, Carbaryl. Reports carcinogens. 4,097 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63111RHNPL133EK (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Us Polymers Accurez Llc, St Louis
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000441157 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Anheuser-Busch Llc, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Hydrogen sulfide, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid. 126,700 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63118NHSRBONEBU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Us Paint Corp, Saint Louis
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $7,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012609016 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Willert Home Products, Saint Louis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,4-Dichlorobenzene. Reports carcinogens. 1,250 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 63110WLLRT4044P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Bayer Cropscience-Krauss Plant, St. Louis
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012471627 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7

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 St. Louis city

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 St. Louis city, 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 St. Louis city View on the heat map All Missouri counties