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Sanders County, Montana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Sanders County is 153.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 181 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (88), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (49), Gas station (mapped facility) (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: 47.6916, -115.1542.

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 Sanders County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	New cases	24.6	14.5	1.7xSignificant	15.3 to 38.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.2	17.9	1.13x	10.9 to 35	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.6	13.9	1.12x	8.6 to 27.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	33.3	30.2	1.1x	23.8 to 46.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	153.3	143.2	1.07x	130.8 to 179.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.6	18.5	1.06x	12.5 to 31.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	437.1	453.4	0.96x	394.8 to 483.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	44.7	51.8	0.86x	32.9 to 60.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	20.4	23.8	0.86x	11.3 to 34.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	13.7	18.7	0.73x	8.6 to 23.3	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 Sanders County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,206.8	9,842.6	+24%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75	75.3	-0%	years
Child mortality	147.7	59.8	+147%	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	147.2	96.9	+52%	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.

Formaldehyde11.51 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.68 per million
Acetaldehyde1.64 per million
Pahpom0.93 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 345 days: 283 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 16, peak 85.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing88
NPDES wastewater discharge permit49
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Brownfield property9
Public airport7
EPA air quality monitor2
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Hydroelectric plant2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
TRI reporting facility1
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.

Thompson River Lumber, Thompson Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 87 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5987WTHMPS5532H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Us Antimony Corp, Thompson Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Antimony. 4,270 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 59873NTDST1250P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Thompson River Lumber, Thompson Falls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057418708 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
City Of Thompson Falls Wwtf, Thompson Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070205143 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Ponds, Heron
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070258381 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Us Antimony Corp, Thompson Falls
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000497472 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Symes Hot Springs Hotel And Mineral Baths, Hot Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020346197 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Scarlett Dock Area, Heron
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071661809 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Dixon Agency Home, Dixon
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038726689 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Diehl Mill, Plains
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038741635 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Dixon Agency Property: Unit 18 Lot 5, Dixon
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967717 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Revais Creek Mine Tailings Area, Dixon
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976889 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Flathead Post And Pole, Dixon
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976891 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Theeler Property, Hot Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983860 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Woods Property/Spring Street Exxon, Hot Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983861 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hot Springs Bath House, Hot Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985714 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Henry'S Hideaway, Trout Creek
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986711 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hot Springs, Town Of, Hot Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006723019 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Flathead Post & Pole, Dixon
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007653672 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Sanders County Noxon Rapids And Cabinet Gorge Pesticide, Trout Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045510318 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Town Of Plains Wwtp, Plains
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010826188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Fletcher Aquatic, Thompson Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069996681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
American Analytical Services Inc, Osburn
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044939751 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Hot Springs, Hot Springs
Public airport. O.
Record ID S09 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Plains, Plains
Public airport. O.
Record ID S34 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2

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 Sanders 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 Sanders 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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