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Clay County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Clay County is 145.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 160 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (84), Air permit holder (minor source) (49), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (9). 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: 40.5244, -98.0513.

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 Clay County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	510	453.4	1.12x	440.8 to 587.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	145.5	143.2	1.02x	111.4 to 187.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	37.3	51.8	0.72x	21.3 to 62.3	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 Clay County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,142.1	9,842.6	-48%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.1	75.3	+4%	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	61.8	96.9	-36%	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.

Formaldehyde14.2 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.85 per million
Acetaldehyde1.11 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

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

Rail grade crossing84
Air permit holder (minor source)49
NPDES wastewater discharge permit9
Brownfield property7
Gas station (mapped facility)4
Public airport2
Small hazardous waste generator2
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.

Usda Ars Ne Hruska Meat Animal Research Center (Usda), Clay Center
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006369526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Usda Ars Ne Hruska Meat Animal Research Center (Usda), Clay Center
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006369526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Central Nebraska Wood Preserve Rs, Sutton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Arsenic compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 68979CNTRL201SA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Usda Ars Ne Hruska Meat Animal Research Center (Usda), Clay Center
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110006369526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Central Nebraska Wood Preserve Rs, Sutton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064178786 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Clay Center Cleaners, Clay Center
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038753177 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Harvard Courts, Harvard
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970406 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Harvard Veterans Memorial Park, Harvard
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970407 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hoagland Repair Shop, Harvard
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970408 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Harvard Chemical Company, Harvard
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970409 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Mcpeck Dry Cleaners, Harvard
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970410 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Laundromat, Edgar
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986879 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Harvard State, Harvard
Public airport. O.
Record ID 08K (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1530651604 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
R Lazy K, Inc., Glenvil
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008944633 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ong Wastewater Treatment, Ong
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009841449 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
R Lazy K Inc, Glenvil
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037609380 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Reeson Feeding, Inc., Harvard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045764268 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
B-Shaw Feedyard, Fairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045853867 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Leroy W. Thom Livestock (Lwt Limited), Hastings
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045868628 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
R Lazy K - Fairfield, Fairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070155263 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
B Shaw Feedyard, Fairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070832163 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Graincomm Marketing, Llc (373068 - Sutton Ne), Sutton
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072028055 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Co Rd, Sutton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 073242W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Ash St, Sutton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 073243D (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 Clay 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 Clay 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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