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Saunders County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Saunders County is 140.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 273 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (122), Air permit holder (minor source) (82), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (21). 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: 41.2348, -96.6371.

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 Saunders County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	15.9	13	1.22x	8.9 to 25.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	29.1	23.8	1.22x	20.5 to 40.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	58.3	51.8	1.13x	46.9 to 71.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.8	18.5	1.07x	12.8 to 29.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.2	17.9	1.02x	11.3 to 27.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	140.7	143.2	0.98x	122.3 to 161.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	10.7	11.3	0.95x	6.4 to 17.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	428	453.4	0.94x	394 to 464.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.5	18.7	0.94x	11.3 to 26.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.2	13.9	0.88x	7.5 to 19.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	25.7	30.2	0.85x	18.4 to 35.1	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 Saunders County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,666.7	9,842.6	-32%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	45.9	59.8	-23%	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	69.5	96.9	-28%	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.

Formaldehyde15.27 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde1.25 per million
Benzene0.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing122
Air permit holder (minor source)82
NPDES wastewater discharge permit21
Gas station (mapped facility)18
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Public airport3
Brownfield property3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
TRI reporting facility2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Gas power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1
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.

Nebraska Ordnance Plant (Former), Mead
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 31.9. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NE6211890011 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Darling Ingredients Inc, Wahoo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006606583 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.9
Omaha Steel Castings, Wahoo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045442927 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Darling Ingredients Inc., Wahoo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Hydrogen sulfide, Ammonia. 720,630 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68066RNWHXRURAL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Omaha Steel Castings Co Llc, Wahoo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Diisocyanates, Manganese and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 341 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6806WMHSTL921EA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Darling Ingredients Inc, Wahoo
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006606583 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Alten, Llc, Mead
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067327146 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Wahoo Power Plant, Wahoo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001514745 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Insulfoam, Mead
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002441938 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Alten, Llc, Mead
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067327146 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
U-Mix, Ashland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 6800WMXXXX33CUN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Thomas Lakes Subdivision Wastewater Treatment Facility, Ashland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041924228 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Wahoo Power Plant, Wahoo
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001514745 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Insulfoam, Mead
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002441938 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Darling Ingredients Inc, Wahoo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006606583 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Omaha Steel Castings, Wahoo
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110045442927 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ashland Water Treatment Plant, Ashland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027228729 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Darling Ingredients Inc, Wahoo
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110006606583 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Alten, Llc, Mead
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067327146 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ashland Water Treatment Plant, Ashland
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110027228729 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Wahoo, Wahoo
Gas power plant.
Record ID 2310 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Saunders County Hospital, Wahoo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039063303 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Slemin Property, Wahoo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045924611 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Camel Center, Wahoo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981539 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Alten, Llc, Mead
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110067327146 (U.S. EPA ECHO) 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 Saunders 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 Saunders 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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