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Webster County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Webster County is 207.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 96 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (55), Air permit holder (minor source) (26), Gas station (mapped facility) (5). 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: 40.173, -98.4999.

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 Webster County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	207.9	143.2	1.45xSignificant	154.9 to 275.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	69.1	51.8	1.33x	41.4 to 112.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	520.7	453.4	1.15x	432.5 to 623.8	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 Webster County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,189.5	9,842.6	-27%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.3	75.3	+0%	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	145.5	96.9	+50%	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.

Formaldehyde13.9 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.83 per million
Acetaldehyde1.06 per million
Benzene0.84 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing55
Air permit holder (minor source)26
Gas station (mapped facility)5
NPDES wastewater discharge permit3
Public airport2
Brownfield property2
Oil-fired power plant2
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.

Red Cloud, Red Cloud
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 2299 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
City Light & Water, Blue Hill
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 7481 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Blue Hill Elementary School, Blue Hill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976945 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
South Central State Bank, Blue Hill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986035 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ely'S Inc, Guide Rock
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000559967 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Red Cloud Muni, Red Cloud
Public airport. O.
Record ID 7V7 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Village Of Guide Rock, Guide Rock
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041913757 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gottsch Feeding Corp. - Red Cloud, Red Cloud
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045890862 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ldi - Webster County, Red Cloud
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056161629 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Private, Red Cloud
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 083963Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Road 1600, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 070268N (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
County Road, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 070270P (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 070271W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
County Road, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 070272D (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 070273K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
County Road, Blue Hill
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 070713Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Cass St, Blue Hill
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 070714F (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 073398V (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 073399C (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Webster St, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 073401B (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
State Route, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 073403P (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
County Road, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 073404W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
County Road, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 073405D (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
County Road, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 073406K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Cowles
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 073407S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2

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 Webster 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 Webster 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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