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Otoe County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Otoe County is 155.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 270 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (131), Air permit holder (minor source) (67), 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: 40.6554, -96.1241.

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 Otoe County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	26.7	13	2.05xSignificant	16.2 to 41.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	28.8	17.9	1.61xSignificant	19.1 to 42.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	42.5	30.2	1.41xSignificant	32 to 56	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	14.9	11.3	1.32x	8.7 to 24.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66.9	51.8	1.29xSignificant	53.5 to 83.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.5	13.9	1.12x	9 to 25.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	155.1	143.2	1.08x	133.1 to 180	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	19.9	18.7	1.06x	12.8 to 30.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	447.4	453.4	0.99x	407.2 to 490.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.3	18.5	0.94x	10.4 to 27.6	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 Otoe County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,090.8	9,842.6	-28%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.4	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	59.9	59.8	+0%	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	82.4	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.

Formaldehyde15.76 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.34 per million
Benzene0.72 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing131
Air permit holder (minor source)67
NPDES wastewater discharge permit19
Gas station (mapped facility)14
Brownfield property5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Small hazardous waste generator4
TRI reporting facility4
Major air pollution source3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Gas power plant3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Coal power plant1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Omaha Public Power District Nebraska City Station, Nebraska City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Manganese compounds, Hydrogen fluoride and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 10,568,287 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68410MHPBLRR3XX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.9
Elster American Meter Company, Nebraska City
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $64,990.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000748022 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Highway 2 Ready Mix, Palmyra
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead. Reports carcinogens. 5,800 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6841WHGHWY488RA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Nebraska City, Nebraska City
Coal power plant.
Record ID 6096 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 7.3
Oppd Nebraska City Station, Nebraska City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000606489 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.2
Elster American Meter Company, Nebraska City
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $64,990.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000748022 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Highway 2 Ready Mix, Palmyra
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017626979 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Cargill Meat Solutions Corp, Nebraska City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen sulfide. 2,000 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68410CRGLLPOBOX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Elster American Meter Company, Nebraska City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $64,990.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000748022 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Elster American Meter Co Llc, Nebraska City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 16 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68410MRCNMINDUS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Elster American Meter Company, Nebraska City
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $64,990.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000748022 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Concrete Industries Inc, Nebraska City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 6841WCNCRT9184T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Otoe Wastewater Treatment Facility, Otoe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011033746 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Concrete Industries Inc, Nebraska City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017761572 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Oppd Nebraska City Station, Nebraska City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000606489 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Nebraska Public Power Plant, Nebraska City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072171903 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Northern Natural Gas Company, Palmyra
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001511971 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ngpl Compressor Station 196, Syracuse
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007021356 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Nebraska City Wwtp, Nebraska City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039833552 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Nebraska City # 1, Nebraska
Gas power plant.
Record ID 2255 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Nebraska City # 2, Nebraska
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7555 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Syracuse # 2, Syracuse
Gas power plant.
Record ID 2256 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Chi Health St Mary'S, Nebraska City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001511908 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Morton House Kitchens, Nebraska City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038764101 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Wichita Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Nebraska City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044214187 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 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 Otoe 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 Otoe 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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