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Valley County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Valley County is 158.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 90 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (38), Air permit holder (minor source) (23), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (13). 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: 41.5604, -98.9817.

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 Valley County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	515.7	453.4	1.14x	431.1 to 613.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	158.7	143.2	1.11x	116.3 to 213.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	48	51.8	0.93x	28.3 to 80.4	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 Valley County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,970.4	9,842.6	-19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.1	75.3	+4%	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	77.7	96.9	-20%	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.

Formaldehyde12.34 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.82 per million
Acetaldehyde0.93 per million
Benzene0.51 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing38
Air permit holder (minor source)23
NPDES wastewater discharge permit13
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Brownfield property4
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Oil-fired power plant1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Greenamerica Biofuels Ord Llc, Ord
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Acrolein, Acetaldehyde, Methanol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 48,461 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 68862VRSNR48267 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Green Plains Ord Llc, Ord
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110029535242 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Ord Light & Water Dept, Ord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001514772 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ord, Ord
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 2294 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Ord Light & Water Dept, Ord
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001514772 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Green Plains Ord Llc, Ord
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110029535242 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ord Voluntary Fire Department Property, Ord
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038757235 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Arbor Care Center, Ord
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071980554 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Quiz Graphic Arts, Inc., Ord
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985131 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Mortensen Industrial Site, Ord
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985135 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Green Plains Ord Llc, Ord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110029535242 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Arcadia Wastewater Treatment Facility, Arcadia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008961686 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Green Plains Ord Llc, Ord
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110029535242 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Evelyn Sharp Fld, Ord
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ODX (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Ord Wwtf, Ord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006603201 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Loup Valleys Rppd Warehouse, Ord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014439474 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Novak Feedlot Inc, Ord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037100080 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Jackson Feedlot, Ord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037274570 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Triple T Farms, Ord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045793227 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Knapp Cattle, Llc, Ord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045836119 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hackel Feedlot, Ord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045865612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Big E'Z Backgrounding Inc, Ord
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045892986 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bossen Livestock Co, Arcadia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070830077 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Jnr Farms, Inc., Ord, Township Of
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071222107 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Private Road, North Loup
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 817208Y (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 Valley 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 Valley 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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