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Silver Bow County, Montana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Silver Bow County is 160.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Bladder deaths at 2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 246 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (100), Rail grade crossing (80), Gas station (mapped facility) (22). 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: 45.9047, -112.6909.

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 Silver Bow County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	Deaths	8.3	4.1	2.02xSignificant	5.1 to 13	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	14.3	8.7	1.64xSignificant	10 to 20.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.4	6.2	1.35x	4.8 to 13.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	24.4	18.7	1.3x	18.6 to 31.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	18.8	14.5	1.3x	13.4 to 25.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.8	4.6	1.26x	3.3 to 9.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14	11.3	1.24x	9.5 to 20	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.9	5.7	1.21x	3.8 to 11.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.2	17.9	1.18x	15.5 to 28.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	26.8	23.8	1.13x	19.9 to 35.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	160.1	143.2	1.12xSignificant	144.5 to 177.1	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	13.8	13	1.06x	8.9 to 20.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	476.6	453.4	1.05x	448.4 to 506.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.1	13.9	1.01x	9.6 to 20.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.4	30.2	0.94x	22.2 to 35.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	47.7	51.8	0.92x	39.7 to 57.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.1	18.5	0.87x	11.2 to 22.6	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 Silver Bow County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,493.1	9,842.6	+7%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.1	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	52.9	59.8	-11%	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	124.6	96.9	+29%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	45	28.6	+57%	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.

Formaldehyde8.82 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.48 per million
Acetaldehyde1.11 per million
Naphthalene0.98 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 310 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 28, peak 96.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit100
Rail grade crossing80
Gas station (mapped facility)22
Brownfield property9
Small hazardous waste generator5
TRI reporting facility5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Major air pollution source2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Superfund (NPL) site2
EPA air quality monitor1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
Scrapyard (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.

Montana Pole and Treating, Butte
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 33. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MTD006230635 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area, Silver Bow Creek
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 63.8. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MTD980502777 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Montana Resources Llc, Butte
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper And Copper Compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Zinc compounds, Lead compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 201,005,361 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 59701MNTNR600SH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Continental Pit, Butte
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428555 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.8
Solvay Usa Llc Silver Bow Plant, Butte
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Phosphorus (yellow or white). Reports carcinogens. 60,000 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5975WSLVYS11913 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Rec Advanced Silicon Materials Llc, Butte
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428546 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Montana Precision Products Llc, Butte
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), 4,4'-Isopropylidenediphenol. Reports carcinogens. 241 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5975WSCSTF1198X (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Rec Silicon, Butte
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Copper And Copper Compounds. 3,138 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 59701DVNCD11914 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Bert Mooney, Butte
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID BTM (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Montana Precision Products Llc, Butte
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039186109 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Continental Pit, Butte
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428555 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Rec Advanced Silicon Materials Llc, Butte
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428546 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Homestake Meadows Phase Ii Hoa, Butte
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064649313 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc. - Butte, Butte
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Lead, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 5975WRGNSP11987 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Rec Advanced Silicon Materials Llc, Butte
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428546 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Solvay Usa Inc.-Silver Bow Plant, Silver Bow
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071141044 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc. - Butte, Butte
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071264145 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Butte Greeley School, Butte-Silver Bow (Remainder)
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 300930005 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4
Basin Creek Power Services, Butte
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038100435 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Butte Highlands Project, Butte
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044797547 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Butte-Silver Bow Wwtp, Butte
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012804698 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
City Of Butte Ms-4, Butte
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028112502 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Butte Highlands Mine, Butte
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056351415 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Basin Creek Reservoir #1, Butte
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071878033 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Basin Creek Plant, Butte
Gas power plant.
Record ID 55866 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.1

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 Silver Bow 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 Silver Bow 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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