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Vernon County, Missouri: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Vernon County is 176.5 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 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 261 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (125), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (61), Air permit holder (minor source) (20). 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: 37.8485, -94.3426.

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 Vernon County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	47.4	30.2	1.57xSignificant	36.6 to 60.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	176.5	143.2	1.23xSignificant	154.6 to 200.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	63.8	51.8	1.23x	51.2 to 78.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	6.5 to 19.7	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	400.6	453.4	0.88x	366.3 to 437.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.2	18.7	0.87x	10.1 to 25.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.1	17.9	0.84x	9.2 to 23.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.5	13.9	0.83x	6.4 to 19.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.1	18.5	0.82x	9.3 to 23.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.2	23.8	0.76x	11.1 to 28.3	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 Vernon County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,579.7	9,842.6	+28%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.6	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	70.6	59.8	+18%	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	82.4	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 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.85 per million
Benzene0.82 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing125
NPDES wastewater discharge permit61
Air permit holder (minor source)20
Industrial wastewater discharge14
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Brownfield property5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
TRI reporting facility4
Major air pollution source3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
Commercial airport1
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.

3m Co - Nevada, Nevada
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Methanol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 703,121 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64772MNVDPHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
3m Nevada Plant, Nevada
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $170,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000443805 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.1
Prairie Pride Inc, Deerfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033021888 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.9
Archer Daniels Midland (Adm) Deerfield, Deerfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Methanol. 1,880,309 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6474WRCHRD177SU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Us Army National Guard Camp Clark Ranges, Nevada
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,136 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64772SRMYCRT3BX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Us Army National Guard Camp Clark Ranges, Nevada
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037072093 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
3m Nevada Plant, Nevada
Major air pollution source. Penalties $170,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000443805 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Nevada Wwtf, Nevada
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000733831 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
3m Nevada Plant, Nevada
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $170,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000443805 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
3m Nevada Plant, Nevada
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $170,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000443805 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Prairie Pride Inc, Deerfield
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033021888 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Bronaugh Wwtf, Bronaugh
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009868456 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Emery Truck Plaza, Deerfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064302268 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Murphy-Brown Llc Nevada Feed Mill, Nevada
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017359589 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
3m Nevada Plant, Nevada
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $170,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000443805 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Mid-West Fertilizer, Inc. - Metz, Metz
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011081220 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Prairie Pride Inc, Deerfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033021888 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Troyers Custom Meats, Richards
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067576037 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Nevada, Nevada
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 2090 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Northeast Vernon County R-1 School Wwtf, Schell City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064297309 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Waste Solutions, Moundville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070389286 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Waste Solutions, Moundville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071526851 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Murphy-Brown Llc Nevada Feed Mill, Nevada
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc (fume or dust). 10 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64772MRPHY1300M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.8
Prairie Pride Inc, Deerfield
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033021888 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Lbz L.L.C. Platinum Aerostructures, Nevada
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid. 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 64772LLDFT1200E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.6

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 Vernon 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 Vernon 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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