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Flathead County, Montana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Flathead County is 138 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 599 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (300), Rail grade crossing (76), Gas station (mapped facility) (58). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 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: 48.2986, -114.0917.

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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 Flathead County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	38.3	23.8	1.61xSignificant	33.7 to 43.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.8	2	1.4x	1.7 to 4.4	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	16.5	13	1.27xSignificant	13.2 to 20.4	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.1	4.4	1.16x	3.6 to 7.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.4	18.5	1.16x	18.1 to 25.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.7	14.5	1.15x	13.7 to 20.2	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.1	3.7	1.11x	2.9 to 5.8	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.2	4.8	1.08x	3.7 to 7.1	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	20	18.7	1.07x	16.9 to 23.6	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.6	6.2	1.06x	4.6 to 9	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.3	4.1	1.05x	2.9 to 6.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	475.2	453.4	1.05xSignificant	459 to 491.8	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4.8	4.6	1.04x	3.3 to 6.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.7	6.6	1.02x	5 to 8.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11	11.3	0.97x	8.8 to 13.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	138	143.2	0.96x	129.6 to 146.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	13.2	13.9	0.95x	10.7 to 16.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	48.4	51.8	0.93x	43.5 to 53.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.1	3.4	0.91x	2 to 4.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.3	17.9	0.91x	13.5 to 19.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.4	8.7	0.85x	5.7 to 9.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	4.5	5.7	0.79x	3 to 6.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	23.6	30.2	0.78x	20.3 to 27.3	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	3.6	6.6	0.55x	2.4 to 5.4	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 Flathead County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,948.4	9,842.6	-19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.4	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	58.5	59.8	-2%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.3	6.2	-30%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	98.7	96.9	+2%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	15.6	28.6	-45%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde13.73 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.72 per million
Acetaldehyde2.03 per million
Naphthalene1.91 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 269 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 41, peak 103.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit300
Rail grade crossing76
Gas station (mapped facility)58
Brownfield property48
Public airport27
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)26
Small hazardous waste generator12
Scrapyard (mapped facility)11
Major air pollution source5
TRI reporting facility5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
EPA air quality monitor4
Landfill (mapped facility)4
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Large hazardous waste generator3
Heliport3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Biomass power plant2
Hydroelectric plant2
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Anaconda Aluminum Co Columbia Falls Reduction Plant, Columbia Falls
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 68.4. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MTD057561763 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Weyerhaeuser-Cfalls, Columbia Falls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.4
Weyerhaeuser Nr, Columbia Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ammonia, Formaldehyde, Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 835,374 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 59912PLMCRPOBOX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Jtl Group-Kalispell Dba Knife River - Kalispell, Kalispell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. Reports carcinogens. 706 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 59901JTLGR3131H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Weyerhaeuser-Cfalls, Columbia Falls
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Flathead County Landfill, Kalispell
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013889140 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Weyerhaeuser-Cfalls, Columbia Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Flathead County Landfill, Kalispell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013889140 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
City Of Whitefish Wastewater Treatment Facility, Whitefish
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055637976 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Weyerhaeuser-Cfalls, Columbia Falls
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Glacier Park Intl, Kalispell
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID GPI (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Flathead Valley, Columbia Falls
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 300290049 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5
Knife River - 777-2699, Kalispell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020322658 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Cityservicevalcon Llc Kalispell Bulk Facility, Kalispell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Ethylbenzene, Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 5990WCTYSR64WMN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Building Materials Holding Corp. - Bmc West Truss Plant, Kalispell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010121224 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wisher'S Auto Recycling, Kalispell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011048641 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Glacier Park International Airport, Kalispell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011048810 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fh Stoltze Land & Lumber Co, Columbia Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011048883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Montana Rockworks Inc - Mcgregor Lake Quarry, Marion
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064181022 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Flathead Electric Coop, Kalispell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064591776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fox Hill Subdivision Phase 3 And 4, Creston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070002440 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Country Inn & Suites Hotel Glacier Park International Airport, Kalispell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070066418 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Montana Rockworks - Moose Mountain Quarry, Marion
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070211035 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Montana Waste Systems North Valley Hauling, Whitefish
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070212042 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ridge Run Baseball Facility, Kalispell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071081167 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5

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 Flathead County

Montana 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 Flathead County, and their findings.
Montana vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Montana health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Montana 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.
Montana 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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