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Seward County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Seward County is 152.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 172 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (61), Rail grade crossing (56), 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: 40.8724, -97.1394.

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 Seward County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	Deaths	17.7	11.3	1.57x	10.9 to 27.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	18.5	13.9	1.33x	11.3 to 28.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	32.9	30.2	1.09x	23.2 to 45.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	152.2	143.2	1.06x	130.2 to 177.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	48.6	51.8	0.94x	36.8 to 63.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.7	17.9	0.93x	9.4 to 27.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	361.7	453.4	0.8x	325.5 to 401.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.3	18.7	0.76x	8.3 to 23.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	16	23.8	0.67x	9.1 to 26.3	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 Seward County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,490	9,842.6	-44%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.1	75.3	+5%	years
Child mortality	65.8	59.8	+10%	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	74.6	96.9	-23%	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.

Formaldehyde14.93 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde1.2 per million
Benzene0.63 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)61
Rail grade crossing56
NPDES wastewater discharge permit21
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Small hazardous waste generator4
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Public airport2
Brownfield property2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Wind 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.

Tenneco Automotive, Seward
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 288 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68434TNNCT14752 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Hughes Brothers Inc, Seward
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Pentachlorophenol, Chromium and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 121 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68434HGHSB210NO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Hughes Brothers Inc, Seward
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000447801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Tenneco Inc, Seward
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045890639 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Gerhold Concrete Co Seward Plant, Seward
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 68434GRHLD548S6 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Gerhold Concrete Co., Seward
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020055161 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Seward Waste & Potable Water, Seward
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000734215 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Hughes Brothers Inc, Seward
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000447801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
G&P Development Inc Landfill, Milford
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031361103 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ndot Blue River Eastbound Rest Area, Milford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008931399 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Lincoln Ex Atlas, Seward
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044214837 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Centennial School Bus Barn, Utica
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974700 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tenneco Automotive Operating Company, Inc., Seward
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008059830 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Bee Wastewater Treatment Facility, Bee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010828346 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Milford Wastewater Treatment Facility, Milford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006707000 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Beaver Crossing Wastewater, Beaver Crossing
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039852709 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Concordia University, Seward
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001513176 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Hughes Brothers Inc, Seward
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000447801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Seward Muni, Seward
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID SWT (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
City of Milford
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1110391164 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1110559422 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1449444830 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Seward Waste & Potable Water, Seward
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000734215 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Concordia University, Seward
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001513176 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Utica Wastewater Treatment, Utica
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009841118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

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 Seward 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 Seward 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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