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Chaves County, New Mexico: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Chaves County is 138.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 350 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (83), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (76), Air permit holder (minor source) (71). One correctional facility operates in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. 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: 33.2852, -104.3351.

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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 Chaves County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	6	3.4	1.76xSignificant	3.8 to 9.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.8	8.7	1.36x	8.6 to 15.8	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	5.2	4.1	1.27x	3.2 to 8	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	8.1	6.6	1.23x	5.4 to 11.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.4	6.6	1.12x	5 to 10.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	33.5	30.2	1.11x	28.2 to 39.7	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.9	4.6	1.07x	2.9 to 7.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6	5.7	1.05x	3.7 to 9.2	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.7	17.9	1.04x	14.4 to 23.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	138.9	143.2	0.97x	127.3 to 151.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	12.1	13.9	0.87x	8.9 to 16.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.7	11.3	0.86x	6.8 to 13.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	44.1	51.8	0.85x	37.9 to 51.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.3	18.7	0.82x	11.6 to 19.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.6	13	0.82x	7.3 to 14.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	19.2	23.8	0.81x	15 to 24.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	357.9	453.4	0.79x	338.6 to 378.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	4.6	6.2	0.74x	2.6 to 7.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	12.2	18.5	0.66x	8.8 to 16.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	8.2	14.5	0.57x	5.5 to 12	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 Chaves County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,483.9	9,842.6	+37%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.2	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	67	59.8	+12%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.9	6.2	+28%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	125.6	96.9	+30%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	40.4	28.6	+41%	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.

Formaldehyde15.31 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.61 per million
Benzene1.48 per million
Acetaldehyde1.19 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 86 days: 79 good, 2 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 29, peak 117.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing83
NPDES wastewater discharge permit76
Air permit holder (minor source)71
Gas station (mapped facility)35
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)23
Scrapyard (mapped facility)14
Small hazardous waste generator12
Major air pollution source4
Solar power plant4
Brownfield property3
Landfill (mapped facility)3
Wind power plant3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Public airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Superfund (NPL) site2
TRI reporting facility2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

McGaffey and Main Groundwater Plume, Roswell
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NM0000605386 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Lea and West Second Street, Roswell
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NMN000607057 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Dagger Draw Gas Plant, Artesia
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen sulfide, Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 32,279,090 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8821WDGGRD278PI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Leprino Foods Co, Roswell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid, Ammonia. 40,830 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 88201LPRNFRTE25 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Leprino Foods Co, Roswell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000472612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Roswell, City Of, Roswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039926925 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Roswell Air Center, Roswell
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ROW (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Hope Pump Station, Hope
Major air pollution source. Penalties $30,536.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007010466 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Aersale Inc., Roswell, Nm Facility, Roswell
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $38,845.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070124716 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc. - Roswell, Roswell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 8820WWRSTR49EMA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc. - Roswell, Roswell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046347761 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Roswell Compressor Station, Roswell
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007014514 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Roswell (City Of) - Municipal Landfill, Roswell
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013689507 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Home Depot Store #3510, Roswell
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $285,363.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018882306 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Station #9 - Roswell Cmp Stn, Roswell
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022763990 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Roswell Wrecking Co., Inc., Roswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110066920265 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Roswell Hot Plant And Crusher, Roswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070219878 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Glover Meat Processing Plant, Roswell
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071982057 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Roswell Southwest Properties, Roswell
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071982216 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Roswell Grand Ave Right Of Way, Roswell
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983896 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Dean Baldwin Painting, Lp, Roswell
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004272386 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Roswell (City Of) - Municipal Landfill, Roswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013689507 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Aersale Inc., Roswell, Nm Facility, Roswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $38,845.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070124716 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Aersale, Inc., Roswell
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $38,845.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012265388 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Leprino Foods Company, Roswell
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022712233 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Roswell Correctional Center, Hagerman
EPA FRS registry ID
110022764025
Water system
NM3552803
Health-based violations
10 all time, 2 in 5 years
All violations
111
Contaminants cited
Coliform (TCR), Groundwater Rule, LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Chaves County

New Mexico 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 Chaves County, and their findings.
New Mexico vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
New Mexico health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
New Mexico 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.
New Mexico 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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