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Buffalo County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Buffalo County is 139.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 359 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (142), Rail grade crossing (89), Gas station (mapped facility) (41). 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: 40.8478, -99.074.

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 Buffalo County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	33.2	23.8	1.39xSignificant	26.5 to 41	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.1	6.2	1.31x	5 to 12.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.2	4.8	1.29x	3.7 to 9.9	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	18.2	14.5	1.26x	13.6 to 24	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	16.2	13	1.25x	11.5 to 22.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	30.4	30.2	1.01x	24.5 to 37.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.6	8.7	0.99x	5.5 to 12.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	448	453.4	0.99x	423.1 to 474.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	139.5	143.2	0.97x	126.4 to 153.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.5	18.5	0.95x	12.8 to 23.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.3	5.7	0.93x	3 to 8.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.6	17.9	0.93x	12 to 22.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	47.6	51.8	0.92x	40.1 to 56.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.6	13.9	0.91x	8.7 to 17.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.2	18.7	0.87x	12 to 21.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.1	11.3	0.81x	6 to 13.3	2020-2024

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 Buffalo County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,530.1	9,842.6	-44%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.9	75.3	+6%	years
Child mortality	42.8	59.8	-28%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.9	6.2	-21%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	46.3	96.9	-52%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	9.3	28.6	-68%	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.

Formaldehyde13.62 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.81 per million
Ethylene Oxide1.62 per million
Acetaldehyde1.03 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)142
Rail grade crossing89
Gas station (mapped facility)41
NPDES wastewater discharge permit27
Small hazardous waste generator11
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)10
TRI reporting facility7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Large hazardous waste generator5
Brownfield property4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Public airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Heliport2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Hydroelectric plant1
Solar 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.

Abengoa Bioenergy, Ravenna
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031127126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.1
Kaapa Ethanol Ravenna Llc, Ravenna
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Acrolein, Cyclohexane, Methanol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 128,309 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68869BNGBN35955 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Eaton Mdh Company Inc, Kearney
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000597006 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.1
The Andersons Inc. - Gibbon, Gibbon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds. 456,875 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68840NTRFL6090O (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Eaton Corp, Kearney
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Manganese, Chromium, Cobalt and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,243 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68847TNCRP4200E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Abengoa Bioenergy, Ravenna
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031127126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Gibbon Packing Llc, Gibbon
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000596999 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
The Andersons Inc - Gibbon, Gibbon
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448347 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Gibbon Packing Llc, Gibbon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Peracetic acid. 11,086 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68840GBBNPEHWY3 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Eaton Mdh Company Inc, Kearney
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000597006 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Abengoa Bioenergy, Ravenna
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031127126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Baldwin Filters Inc, Kearney
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000597015 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Baldwin Filters Inc, Kearney
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol, Manganese, Sodium nitrite, Diisocyanates. 3,474 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68848BLDWNEASTH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Abengoa Bioenergy, Ravenna
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031127126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Gibbon Wastewater Treatment, Gibbon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006367494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Kearney Rgnl, Kearney
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID EAR (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Eaton Mdh Company Inc, Kearney
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000597006 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Chief Industries Inc - Agri/Industrial Div, Kearney
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese, Copper. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 68847CHFND4400E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Kearney Crete & Block Co, Kearney
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 6884WKRNYC298HW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Eaton Mdh Company Inc, Kearney
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000597006 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Baldwin Filters Inc, Kearney
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000597015 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Chief Industries Agri/Ind Div, Kearney
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001520621 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Nebco, Inc. Dba-Kearney Crete And Block Co., Kearney
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010166159 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Kearney Wastewater Treatment, Kearney
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000734288 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Gibbon Wastewater Treatment, Gibbon
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110006367494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3

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 Buffalo 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 Buffalo 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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