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Merrick County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Merrick County is 150.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 140 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (72), Air permit holder (minor source) (32), 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: 41.1299, -98.0778.

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 Merrick County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	150.5	143.2	1.05x	119.9 to 187.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.6	30.2	0.98x	17.8 to 48.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	428.1	453.4	0.94x	372.2 to 490.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	42.7	51.8	0.82x	27.4 to 64.8	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 Merrick County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,240.4	9,842.6	-16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.4	75.3	+3%	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	82.7	96.9	-15%	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.

Formaldehyde13.97 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.86 per million
Acetaldehyde1.08 per million
Benzene0.54 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing72
Air permit holder (minor source)32
NPDES wastewater discharge permit19
Major air pollution source3
Brownfield property3
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Public airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
TRI reporting facility1
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.

Green Plains Central City Llc, Central City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022409883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.8
Green Plains Central City Llc, Central City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, Ammonia, n-Hexane, Acrolein and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 72,028 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68826PLTTV2142T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Green Plains Central City Llc, Central City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022409883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Green Plains Central City Llc, Central City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022409883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Green Plains Central City Llc, Central City
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022409883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Kmigt Grand Island Compressor, Grand Island
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010173141 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Tigt Grand Island Compressor, Grand Island
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072000396 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Litzenberg Memorial County Hospital, Central City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001520300 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Central City Fmgp, Central City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071966756 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Baxter Livestock, Central City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972074 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Silver Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility, Silver Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011036075 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Clarks Wwtf, Clarks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006706840 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Strobel Manufacturing Inc., Clarks
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007676880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Dinsdale Express Wash, Palmer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035859602 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Central City Muni/Larry Reineke Fld, Central City
Public airport. O.
Record ID 07K (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Clarks Wwtf, Clarks
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110006706840 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Central City Wwtf, Central City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000734224 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gary Bader & Sons Feedyard E, Palmer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006564440 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sandy Ridge Cattle Inc., Fullerton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006617349 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Chapman Wastewater Treatment Facility, Chapman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006706984 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Palmer Cattle Company North, Palmer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024419217 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Performance Plus Liquids Inc, Palmer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027228701 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Palmer Wastewater Treatment Facility, Palmer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033201238 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dinsdale Brothers, Inc. - Town Lot, Palmer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039182657 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Strobel Manufacturing, Inc., Clarks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040084592 (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 Merrick 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 Merrick 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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