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Box Butte County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Box Butte County is 153.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 119 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (51), Air permit holder (minor source) (30), 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: 42.2162, -103.094.

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 Box Butte County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	153.8	143.2	1.07x	126.7 to 185.6	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.7	23.8	1.04x	13.8 to 41	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	31.1	30.2	1.03x	19.9 to 47.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	394.1	453.4	0.87x	346.4 to 446.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	37.6	51.8	0.73x	25.4 to 54.5	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 Box Butte County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,209.6	9,842.6	-6%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	85.4	59.8	+43%	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	91.5	96.9	-6%	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.

Formaldehyde10.49 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.64 per million
Acetaldehyde0.68 per million
Benzene0.53 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing51
Air permit holder (minor source)30
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Brownfield property6
NPDES wastewater discharge permit6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Small hazardous waste generator3
Public airport2
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Alliance Muni, Alliance
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID AIA (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Parker Hannifin Hpd, Alliance
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039214463 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Alliance Former Army Air Field, Alliance
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038751151 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Alliance Former Power Plant, Alliance
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038751188 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Downtown Hemingford, Hemingford
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975527 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Rayco, Hemingford
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976944 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Alliance Wrecking &Salvage Co, Alliance
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071979137 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lux, Llc, Hemingford
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071987076 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Parker Hannifin Alliance Plant, Alliance
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Antimony And Antimony Compounds, Antimony compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 69301DYCPREASTH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Alliance Disposal Area, Alliance
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/772772879 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Parker Hannifin Hpd, Alliance
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039214463 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Parker Hannifin Hpd, Alliance
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039214463 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Burlington Northern Santa Fe - Alliance Yard, Alliance
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000847736 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Burlington Northern Santa Fe - Alliance Yard, Alliance
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000847736 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Schiff Of Nebraska - Alliance, Alliance
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006573494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Schiff Snake Creek Ranch, Alliance
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006598967 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cover-Jones Motor Co, Alliance
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007676817 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hemingford Wwtf, Hemingford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009841494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Alliance Wastewater Treatment Facility, Alliance
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071962023 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Private, Alliance
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 064760T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
County Road, Alliance
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 064761A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Cr-57, Alliance
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 064763N (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Cr-58, Alliance
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 064764V (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
W 25th Street, Alliance
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 064773U (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Madison Rd, Alliance
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 064774B (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 Box Butte 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 Box Butte 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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