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Pierce County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Pierce County is 119.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 116 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (46), Air permit holder (minor source) (36), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (16). 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: 42.2643, -97.6014.

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 Pierce County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	414.1	453.4	0.91x	355.9 to 479.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	45.9	51.8	0.89x	29.6 to 69.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	119.8	143.2	0.84x	90.9 to 155.8	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 Pierce County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,469.2	9,842.6	-24%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.4	75.3	+5%	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	72	96.9	-26%	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.

Formaldehyde13.43 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde1.06 per million
Benzene0.55 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing46
Air permit holder (minor source)36
NPDES wastewater discharge permit16
Gas station (mapped facility)8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Major air pollution source1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Oil-fired power plant1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Husker Ag Llc, Plainview
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Acrolein, Formaldehyde and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 122,383 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68769HSKRG5448H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Husker Ag Ethanol Plant, Llc, Plainview
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061054923 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Plainview Muncipal Power, Plainview
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 2297 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Husker Ag Ethanol Plant, Llc, Plainview
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061054923 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Husker Ag Ethanol Plant, Llc, Plainview
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061054923 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Husker Ag Ethanol Plant, Llc, Plainview
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061054923 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Plainview Municipal Power, Plainview
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001512168 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Pierce Wastewater Treatment Facility, Pierce
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009720926 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Plainview Municipal Power, Plainview
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001512168 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/921082089 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Bahr Trucking, Llc, Osmond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045753920 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Hadar Burn Site, Hadar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006707108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Raabe Feedlot, Hadar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008888597 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Osmond Wastewater Treatment, Osmond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011035799 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
M-C Feeders, Plainview
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038446697 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Anderson Livestock Llc, Pierce
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045881097 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pierce County Feeders, Llc, Plainview
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045926352 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Douglas Holdings Llc Dba Sidump'R, Plainview
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046398171 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Douglas Holdings Llc Dba Sidump'R, Plainview
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046398171 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gubbels Wash Facility, Osmond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069347175 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Huwaldt Trucking Inc., Osmond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069418721 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Brad Huwaldt Trucking, Osmond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070079558 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pierce County Feeders, Llc, Plainview
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070147340 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Winkelbauer Cattle Company, Llc, Pierce
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071945291 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Private, Osmond
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 945700T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2

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 Pierce 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 Pierce 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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