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Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Scotts Bluff County is 148 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 312 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (114), Air permit holder (minor source) (84), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (24). 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: 41.8509, -103.7074.

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 Scotts Bluff County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9.3	6.6	1.41x	5.8 to 14.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7.2	5.7	1.26x	4.4 to 11.5	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	15.9	13	1.22x	10.4 to 23.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.4	23.8	1.19x	21.5 to 36.9	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.7	6.6	1.17x	4.5 to 12.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.6	18.7	1.16x	16.4 to 28.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	148	143.2	1.03x	133.3 to 164	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11.6	11.3	1.03x	7.7 to 17	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.2	8.7	0.94x	4.9 to 13.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	423.2	453.4	0.93x	396.6 to 451.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.8	18.5	0.91x	11.7 to 23.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	26.2	30.2	0.87x	20.5 to 33.2	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.5	17.9	0.87x	10.8 to 21.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.8	13.9	0.85x	8 to 17.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	43.8	51.8	0.85x	36.1 to 52.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	9.1	14.5	0.63x	5.5 to 14.3	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 Scotts Bluff County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,216.5	9,842.6	+4%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.2	75.3	-0%	years
Child mortality	69.7	59.8	+17%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.7	6.2	+40%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	99.3	96.9	+2%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	10.3	28.6	-64%	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.

Formaldehyde11.27 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.64 per million
Acetaldehyde0.85 per million
Pahpom0.6 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 308 days: 295 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 23, peak 64.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing114
Air permit holder (minor source)84
NPDES wastewater discharge permit24
Gas station (mapped facility)22
Brownfield property21
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)17
Small hazardous waste generator7
Scrapyard (mapped facility)6
Large hazardous waste generator2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Major air pollution source1
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Coal power plant1
Solar power plant1
TRI reporting facility1
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.

Western Sugar Cooperative, Scottsbluff
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Barium And Barium Compounds, Formaldehyde, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 960,874 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 69361WSTRN2100E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Western Sugar Cooperative, Scottsbluff
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448579 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
Western Sugar Coop - Scottsbluff, Scottsbluff
Coal power plant.
Record ID 57937 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6
Scottsbluff/Western Nebraska Rgnl/Wm B Heilig Fld, Scottsbluff
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID BFF (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Western Sugar Cooperative, Scottsbluff
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448579 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Scottsbluff Wastewater Treatment Facility, Scottsbluff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039837647 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Western Sugar Cooperative, Scottsbluff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448579 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Western Sugar Cooperative, Scottsbluff
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000448579 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Kurt Manufacturing Company, Lyman
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002081078 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Gering Wwtf, Gering
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064644121 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Scottsbluff Senior High School, Scottsbluff
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 311570004 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3
Packerland Packing Company - North, Gering
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038759224 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
B&T Metals, Gering
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038971413 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Jbs Packerland Plant, Gering
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059659301 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Lane Auction House, Gering
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059659310 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
A-1 Rental, Gering
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059732124 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Scottsbluff Former Park Offices, Scottsbluff
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060387763 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Westco Lawn And Garden, Gering
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071963899 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Homestead House, Scottsbluff
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965864 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Railroad Street Storage, Morrill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974217 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ward'S Place, Scottsbluff
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975262 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lindeken Property, Gering
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978121 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Richs Wrecking And Used Cars, Inc., Gering
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978874 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Richs Wrecking & Used Cars, Inc., Gering
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978875 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
602 East Overland, Scottsbluff
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071979161 (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 Scotts Bluff 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 Scotts Bluff 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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