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Butler County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Butler County is 159.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 198 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (112), Air permit holder (minor source) (57), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (15). 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: 41.2513, -97.1384.

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 Butler County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	27.7	18.5	1.5x	15.7 to 46.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	159.7	143.2	1.12x	129 to 196.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	25.8	30.2	0.85x	15.4 to 42.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	386.1	453.4	0.85x	336.1 to 442.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	39.7	51.8	0.77x	26.5 to 58.9	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 Butler County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,602	9,842.6	-43%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.1	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	75.8	96.9	-22%	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.

Formaldehyde14.36 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde1.14 per million
Ethylene Oxide0.88 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing112
Air permit holder (minor source)57
NPDES wastewater discharge permit15
Brownfield property4
Gas station (mapped facility)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Oil-fired power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

Bruno Co-op Association/Associated Properties, Bruno
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NED981713829 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
David City, David City
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 2233 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Waste Connections - Butler County Landfill, David City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001516878 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
David City Wastewater Treatment Facility, David City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006611773 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Sid 1 Butler Co -Clear Lake Residential Assn, Columbus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008951189 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Bellwood Wastewater Treatment, Bellwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011035735 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Goodyear Building, David City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042111041 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former American Legion Hall, David City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983671 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former David City Service Co., David City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114919 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Kv Vet Supply, David City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072250491 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Waste Connections - Butler County Landfill, David City
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001516878 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Dwight Waste Water Treatment Facility, Dwight
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009163145 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
David City Muni, David City
Public airport. O.
Record ID 93Y (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1509632972 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Village of Ulysses
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1523790587 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Timpte Inc, David City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448070 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Grass Valley Farms, Inc., David City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006594177 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ulysses Wastewater Treatment Facility, Ulysses
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009841341 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rising City Wastewater Treatment Facility, Rising City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011035753 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Henningsen Foods Inc, David City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015973179 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Emerald Sky Dairy Llc, Emerald, Town Of
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040433386 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Summit Calf Ranch, Rising City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043684144 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Little Pine Ridge Feedyard Inc, Bellwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045797562 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Timberline Energy Llc, Rising City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045894984 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pinnacle Dairy Llc, Sylvester, Town Of
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070251983 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Butler 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 Butler 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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