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Custer County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Custer County is 134.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 409 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (274), Rail grade crossing (82), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (19). 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: 41.3937, -99.7272.

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 Custer County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	30.5	13	2.35xSignificant	17.1 to 50.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	25.2	14.5	1.74x	13.6 to 42.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25.9	17.9	1.45x	14.6 to 42.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	483	453.4	1.07x	431.1 to 539.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.6	23.8	0.99x	13.5 to 39.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	134.1	143.2	0.94x	109.6 to 163.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	46.5	51.8	0.9x	32.1 to 66	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	19.5	30.2	0.65x	11.1 to 32.9	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 Custer County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,243	9,842.6	-16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.9	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	91	59.8	+52%	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	90.3	96.9	-7%	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.

Formaldehyde11.8 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.77 per million
Acetaldehyde0.81 per million
Benzene0.47 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)274
Rail grade crossing82
NPDES wastewater discharge permit19
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Public airport4
Small hazardous waste generator3
Gas power plant2
Oil-fired power plant2
Wind power plant2
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)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.

Sargent, Sargent
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 2300 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Arnold, Arnold
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 2216 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Sargent, Sargent
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001507236 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Broken Bow Wastewater Treatment Facility, Broken Bow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009841378 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Broken Bow, Broken Bow
Gas power plant.
Record ID 2221 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Ansley, Ansley
Gas power plant.
Record ID 2214 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
4 County Kids - Custer Elementary School, Broken Bow
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972461 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sargent Pipe Company Inc, Broken Bow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008963531 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Ansley Light Plant, Ansley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010171278 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Sargent Muni, Sargent
Public airport. O.
Record ID 09K (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Broken Bow Muni/Keith Glaze Fld, Broken Bow
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID BBW (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Arnold Wastewater Treatment Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/793016645 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Ansley Light Plant, Ansley
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110010171278 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Broken Bow Power Plant, Broken Bow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001507174 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Becton Dickinson Corp, Broken Bow
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001507218 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Becton Dickinson Corp, Broken Bow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001507218 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Arnold, Arnold
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001514488 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Forrests Dodge City, Arnold
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004080404 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Thomas Livestock Feedmill, Merna
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021036056 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Broken Bow High School, Broken Bow
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022109136 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Custer County Feeders, Inc., Oconto
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033200907 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hanna Feedlot, Milburn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035859737 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gale Henry Livestock, Oconto
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040086135 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bobcat Feeders, Oconto
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045729226 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Adams Land & Cattle Co East, Broken Bow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045747331 (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 Custer 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 Custer 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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