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Boone County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Boone County is 134.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 144 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (82), Air permit holder (minor source) (27), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (16). 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: 41.6974, -98.0609.

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 Boone County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	448.6	453.4	0.99x	379 to 528.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	134.3	143.2	0.94x	102.8 to 174.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	43.5	51.8	0.84x	26.7 to 69.8	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 Boone County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,358.8	9,842.6	-35%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.4	75.3	+5%	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	53.2	96.9	-45%	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.

Formaldehyde13.17 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.85 per million
Acetaldehyde1.03 per million
Benzene0.51 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing82
Air permit holder (minor source)27
NPDES wastewater discharge permit16
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Major air pollution source2
Wind power plant2
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Valero Renewable Fuels Co Llc Dba Valero Albion Plant, Albion
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, Acrolein, Formic acid, n-Hexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 91,974 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68620VRSNL26152 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Valero Renewable Fuels Co Llc (Dba Valero Albion Plant), Albion
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028118748 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Saint Edward, St Edward
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008961374 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Valero Renewable Fuels Co Llc (Dba Valero Albion Plant), Albion
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028118748 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Kmigt Albion Compressor Station, Albion
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001505808 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Valero Renewable Fuels Co Llc (Dba Valero Albion Plant), Albion
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028118748 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Former Billy Bob'S, Albion
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970924 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Valero Renewable Fuels Co Llc (Dba Valero Albion Plant), Albion
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028118748 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Petersburg Wastewater Treatment Facility, Petersburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009841243 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Primrose Wastewater Treatment, Primrose
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009841261 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Albion Muni, Albion
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID BVN (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Albion Water Treatment
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1534417806 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Cedar Rapids Wastewater Treatment Facility, Cedar Rapids
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006606681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Albion Wwtf, Albion
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006674786 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Niewohner Brothers, Inc. - Albion, Albion
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037099537 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Noble Land & Cattle, Inc., Albion
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038446713 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Robert Heying Livestock, Petersburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038446722 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Chuck Heying Feedlot, Petersburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043268870 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cedar River Feeders Llc, Cedar Rapids
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045501765 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wolf Brothers & Reich Inc, Albion
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045739787 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bob Heying Jr Livestock South, Petersburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045768905 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Reardon Bros, St Edward
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045893618 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Reardon Brothers, St. Edward
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056354760 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bonanza Cattle Company, Llc, Albion
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070927904 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
360th Street, St Edward
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815356L (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3

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 Boone 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 Boone 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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