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Phillips County, Montana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Phillips County is 120.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 76 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (37), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (25), Gas station (mapped facility) (6). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 10 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: 48.2622, -107.8904.

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 Phillips County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	431.2	453.4	0.95x	357.7 to 517.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	120.3	143.2	0.84x	85.7 to 167	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	41.8	51.8	0.81x	23.7 to 72.6	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 Phillips County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,668.3	9,842.6	+8%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75	75.3	-0%	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	127.6	96.9	+32%	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: 10 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde8.96 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.82 per million
Acetaldehyde0.75 per million
Benzene0.53 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 314 days: 287 good, 5 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 19, peak 168.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing37
NPDES wastewater discharge permit25
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Brownfield property3
Public airport2
EPA air quality monitor1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
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.

Dodson Wastewater Lagoon, Dodson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070815580 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Malta Livestock, Malta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011049748 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Malta Ready Mix Sand & Gravel, Malta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010825848 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Phillips County Pesticide Application, Malta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070554047 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Malta
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 300710010 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3.5
Former Malta Airport, Malta
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038762915 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Adams Convenience Store (Packy'S), Malta
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071969182 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Malta Opportunities, Malta
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071984875 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Town Of Saco, Saco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011049659 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Malta, Malta
Public airport. O.
Record ID M75 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/322659506 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Malta Sewage Treatment Lagoons, Malta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011047027 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Schwenke Feedlot, Zortman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011385474 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
United Parcel Service-Malta, Malta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016756731 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Patrick Bailey Suction Dredge, Zortman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017696821 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
David Claytons Suction Dredge, Zortman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017755204 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sk Construction - Dodson Creek 318 Permit, Dodson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030917649 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Century Companies - Tribs To Beaver Creek 318 Permit, Malta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037103835 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wickens Construction - Mdt Whitewater 318, Whitewater
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040437177 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pat Ennen Lucky Dawg 1 2 3, Zortman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041243650 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bitter Creek Pipelines Llc - Well Line 1519, Saco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043481247 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
James R Garrett Zortman Claim, Zortman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043743688 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Malta Irrigation District Dodson Dam Repairs Milk River 318, Dodson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044270678 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Malta Irrigation District Beaver Creek Restoration 318, Saco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044270730 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Transcanada Keystone Pipeline Phillips County 318, Malta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064611228 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Phillips 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 Phillips 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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