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Keith County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Keith County is 143.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 150 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (61), Air permit holder (minor source) (39), Gas station (mapped facility) (14). 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: 41.1998, -101.6629.

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 Keith County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	26.1	18.7	1.4x	15.6 to 43.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	30.9	30.2	1.02x	20.1 to 47.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	143.3	143.2	1x	116.3 to 176.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	435.6	453.4	0.96x	383.9 to 493.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	47.9	51.8	0.92x	34.1 to 67.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.3	23.8	0.89x	12.5 to 36.5	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 Keith County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,725.7	9,842.6	-1%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.1	75.3	+2%	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	76.4	96.9	-21%	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.

Formaldehyde11.07 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.7 per million
Acetaldehyde0.73 per million
Benzene0.5 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing61
Air permit holder (minor source)39
Gas station (mapped facility)14
NPDES wastewater discharge permit12
Small hazardous waste generator6
Public airport4
Brownfield property4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Hydroelectric plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Ogallala Ground Water Contamination, Ogallala
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NED986369247 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Ogallala Burn Site No 1, Ogallala
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000734251 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Arnold Magnetic Technologies - Ogallala Electronics, Ogallala
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 6915WRNLDM61WES (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Ogallala Burn Site No 1, Ogallala
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000734251 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Brule Wastewater Treatment Facility, Brule
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008931077 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
House Of Bottles, Ogallala
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006561265 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ogallala Public School District, Ogallala
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010649129 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Kohl Motors, Ogallala
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038759215 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Progress Elementary School, Ogallala
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986777 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Arnold Engineering Company, Ogallala
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001519376 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Arnold Engineering Company, Ogallala
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001519376 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Flying U Trailer Wash, Ogallala
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071401816 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Searle Fld, Ogallala
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID OGA (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Ogallala Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1460157093 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Paxton WWTF
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1524198481 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Paxton Wastewater Treatment Facility, Paxton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020151752 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
American Shizuki Co, Ogallala
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000800740 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Arnold Engineering Company, Ogallala
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001519376 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kohl Motors Inc, Ogallala
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004075223 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Steve'S Body & Paint Inc, Ogallala
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004084268 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Truck & Auto Alignment Inc, Ogallala
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004085221 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Stromberger Farms, Inc., Paxton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006611416 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Paulsen Inc, Ogallala
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007380084 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Northwest Cattle Feeders - North, Brule
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045817167 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Southwest Feeders, Inc. Dba Northwest Cattle Feeders - North, Brule
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070113716 (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 Keith 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 Keith 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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