NE / county FIPS 31147 / county research

Richardson County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Richardson County is 185.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 158 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (81), Air permit holder (minor source) (51), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (11). 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: 40.1309, -95.7152.

How this county ranks in Nebraska

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Richardson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	55.8	30.2	1.85xSignificant	39.7 to 78.2	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	28.4	17.9	1.59x	16 to 48	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	185.2	143.2	1.29xSignificant	153.9 to 222.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	57.8	51.8	1.12x	41.3 to 80.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	419.3	453.4	0.92x	365.3 to 479.9	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 Richardson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,372.1	9,842.6	-35%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.5	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	69.1	96.9	-29%	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.

Formaldehyde16.26 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.45 per million
Benzene0.7 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing81
Air permit holder (minor source)51
NPDES wastewater discharge permit11
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Brownfield property2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
Wind power plant1
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.

Verdon Wastewater Treatment Facility, Verdon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010828024 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
The Ames Cos Inc, Falls City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 6835WMSTRTHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Falls City Wastewater Treatment Facility, Falls City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006620816 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Falls City Plant, Falls City
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110007127144 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Humboldt Wastewater Treatment Facility, Humboldt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008951330 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Dawson Wastewater Treatment Facility, Dawson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008961622 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Falls City, Falls City
Gas power plant.
Record ID 2237 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Bluebird Stella, Stella
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971742 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
991 Central Avenue, Humboldt
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971745 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
4w Oil Co., Llc, Falls City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006706751 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Duerfeldt Oil Well Husted A1, Falls City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006674768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Shubert Wastewater Treatment Facility, Shubert
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009841421 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Brenner Fld, Falls City
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID FNB (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/920794476 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Armbruster Motor Co, Falls City
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004073485 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Airlanco, Falls City
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007129133 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Stella Wastewater Treatment Facility, Stella
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008951535 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Herzog Services Incorporated, Falls City
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001516654 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Stalder Cattle Co., Salem
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008933495 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Duerfeldt - Church Lease, Falls City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011034077 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Falls City Wwtf, Falls City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070004143 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hwy 8, Salem
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 074619Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
645 Blvd, Salem
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 074620T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private, Salem
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 074621A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private, Dawson
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 074623N (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 Richardson 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 Richardson 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.

Scan an address in Richardson County View on the heat map All Nebraska counties