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Jefferson County, Montana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Jefferson County is 174.2 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 134 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (57), Rail grade crossing (41), Brownfield property (10). 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: 46.1597, -112.15.

How this county ranks in Montana

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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 Jefferson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	29.3	18.5	1.58xSignificant	18.6 to 44.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	28.3	17.9	1.58xSignificant	18.2 to 43.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	43.5	30.2	1.44xSignificant	30.9 to 60.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	18.4	13.9	1.32x	10.1 to 31.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	24.5	18.7	1.31x	14.9 to 38.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	18.1	14.5	1.25x	9.6 to 31.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	174.2	143.2	1.22xSignificant	147.3 to 205.4	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	513	453.4	1.13xSignificant	465 to 565.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	26.7	23.8	1.12x	16.4 to 41.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	54.6	51.8	1.05x	40.1 to 73.5	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 Jefferson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,802.4	9,842.6	-21%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.3	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	101.7	96.9	+5%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde9.05 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.56 per million
Acetaldehyde1.08 per million
Naphthalene0.8 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit57
Rail grade crossing41
Brownfield property10
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Public airport5
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Major air pollution source2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
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.

Basin Mining Area, Basin
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 61.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MTD982572562 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Marks Miller Post And Pole, Clancy
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000497463 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Barrick Gold Corp-Golden Sunlight Mine, Whitehall
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. 147,705 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 59759GLDNS453MO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Golden Sunlight Mines Incorporated, Whitehall
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428564 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Ash Grove Cement Co Montana City Plant, Clancy
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds, Chromium and 1 more. 60,317 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 59634SHGRV100HW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Ash Grove Cement Co - Montana City Plant, Clancy
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000595197 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Valley View Landfill, East Helena
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043811621 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Marks Miller Post And Pole, Clancy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000497463 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
City Of Boulder Wwtf, Boulder
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006723037 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ot Mining Corporation, Basin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013342819 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Golden Sunlight Mine, Whitehall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020851023 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Valley View Landfill, East Helena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043811621 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Jefferson County - Weed And Mosquito Districts, Boulder
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046297958 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Lewis & Clark Caversn State Park Upper Visitor Center, Whitehall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070105005 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Lewis And Clark Caverns Campground, Whitehall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070928819 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Marks-Miller Post & Pole Inc, Clancy
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Arsenic compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 59634MRKSM15LUM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Cataract Creek - Saturday Night Claim - 100 Basin St, Basin, 59631, Basin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071506255 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Golden Sunlight Mines Incorporated, Whitehall
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428564 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Elkhorn Rehabilitation Center Llc, Clancy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009860409 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Elkhorn Goldfields Inc Elkhorn Mine Site, Boulder
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056150604 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ash Grove Cement Co - Montana City Plant, Clancy
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000595197 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Boulder Hot Springs, Boulder
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045382073 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Boulder River In Between I-15 And I-15 Frontage Road, Basin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070600735 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Bridge Pylon Pullout, Basin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070826838 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Knowlton Placer, Boulder
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070916692 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8

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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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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