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Howard County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Howard County is 124.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 111 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (71), Air permit holder (minor source) (22), 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: 41.2313, -98.5172.

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 Howard 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	47.3	23.8	1.99xSignificant	26.7 to 77.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	465.7	453.4	1.03x	403.6 to 535.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	124.6	143.2	0.87x	95.7 to 161	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	39.2	51.8	0.76x	24.5 to 61.7	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 Howard County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,022.4	9,842.6	-49%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.7	75.3	+6%	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	86.3	96.9	-11%	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.

Formaldehyde13.46 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.84 per million
Acetaldehyde1.02 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

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

Rail grade crossing71
Air permit holder (minor source)22
NPDES wastewater discharge permit15
Small hazardous waste generator2
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.

St Paul Wastewater Treatment Facility, St Paul
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006707037 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Village of Dannebrog
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1527552809 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Dannebrog Waste Water Treatment Facility, Dannebrog
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009164439 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
St Paul Equipment Inc, St Paul
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006072775 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
William E. Dixson Feedlot, St Paul
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006567250 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mamot Feed Lot, St Libory
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006587951 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bunker Hill Cattle Co Inc, St. Paul
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028118793 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rasmussen Land & Cattle, Inc., Cotesfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037274561 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Windmill Feeders, Elba
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039181319 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Farwell Wastewater Treatment, Farwell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045818763 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Meyer Cattle, Llc, St Paul
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045915051 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
C & I Cattle Company, Dannebrog
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059688538 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
St Paul Municipal Potable Water Treatment Plant, St Paul
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064245703 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Eagle Heart Ranch, Inc., Wolbach
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070114877 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dugan Livestock, St. Paul
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070830535 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kevin Lukasiewicz Livestock, St. Paul
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071950639 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
T.O. Haas Tire & Auto #5133, Saint Paul
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072028827 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cb32 Feeders, Llc, St. Paul
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072229929 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Private Road, Elba
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 816009T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Road, Elba
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 816010M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Road, Elba
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 816011U (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Road, Elba
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 816012B (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Road, Elba
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 816013H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Road, St Paul
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 816015W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Road, St Paul
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 816017K (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 Howard 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 Howard 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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