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Adams County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Adams County is 152.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 377 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (153), Air permit holder (minor source) (117), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (25). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 30 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: 40.525, -98.5011.

How this county ranks in Nebraska

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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 Adams County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	New cases	9.1	6.2	1.47x	5.2 to 15	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	19.8	14.5	1.37x	13.7 to 27.7	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	17.2	13	1.32x	11 to 25.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.7	18.7	1.16x	15.9 to 29.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.9	11.3	1.14x	8.7 to 18.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	33.5	30.2	1.11x	26.3 to 42.3	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	152.8	143.2	1.07x	136.3 to 171	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	477.5	453.4	1.05x	446.7 to 510	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.4	13.9	1.04x	9.7 to 20.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	52.3	51.8	1.01x	42.9 to 63.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.1	8.7	0.93x	4.8 to 13	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.9	23.8	0.92x	15.6 to 30	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.9	18.5	0.91x	11.8 to 23.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.2	17.9	0.91x	11.1 to 23	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 Adams County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,989.3	9,842.6	-19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.8	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	44.7	59.8	-25%	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	77.5	96.9	-20%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	12.9	28.6	-55%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 30 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde14.36 per million
Chromium Vi Hexavalent6.2 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.83 per million
Acetaldehyde1.1 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing153
Air permit holder (minor source)117
NPDES wastewater discharge permit25
Gas station (mapped facility)19
Small hazardous waste generator15
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)10
TRI reporting facility9
Major air pollution source8
Brownfield property4
Large greenhouse gas emitter4
Superfund (NPL) site3
Gas power plant2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Coal power plant1
Solar power plant1
Wind power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Hastings Ground Water Contamination, Hastings
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 42.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NED980862668 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Garvey Elevator, Hastings
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NEN000704351 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
West Highway 6 & Highway 281, Hastings
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NEN000704738 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Agp - Hastings Soybean Oil Production Plant, Hastings
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448472 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
Agp Processing Inc, Hastings
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 3,643,301 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68902GPCRN2801E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.5
A-1 Fiberglass, Hastings
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 229,842 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68901FBRGLROUTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Whelan Energy Center Power Plant, Hastings
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001505602 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.6
Dutton-Lainson Co, Hastings
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Trichloroethylene, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 89,765 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68901DTTNL1601W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Chief Ethanol Fuels Inc, Hastings
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Methanol, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 80,235 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68901CHFTHEASTH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
U.S. Army National Guard Greenlief Training Site Ranges, Hastings
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 20,143 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68901SRMYN6700E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Whelan Energy Center (Wec 1 Hu Wec 2 Ppga), Hastings
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Barium, Lead, Mercury and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 14,688 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68901WHLNNEHWY6 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
A-1 Fiberglass, Hastings
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448427 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Ingersoll-Dresser Pump Co, Hastings
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448445 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Agp - Hastings Soybean Oil Production Plant, Hastings
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448472 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Whelan Energy Center Power Plant, Hastings
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001505602 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Chief Ethanol Fuels, Inc, Hastings
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070244363 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Whelan Energy Center, Hastings
Coal power plant.
Record ID 60 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6.3
Dutton Lainson Company, Hastings
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045949462 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Agp - Hastings Soybean Oil Production Plant, Hastings
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448472 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Us Army National Guard Greenlief Training Site Ranges, Hastings
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012703949 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
T-L Irrigation, Hastings
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000608192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
A-1 Fiberglass, Hastings
Major air pollution source. Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448427 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Eaton Corp Vehicle Group, Hastings
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 68901TNCRP300E3 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Ingersoll-Dresser Pump Co, Hastings
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448445 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Thermo King Corporation, Hastings
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448454 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4

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 Adams County

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