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Colfax County, New Mexico: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Colfax County is 112.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 184 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (57), Rail grade crossing (33), Air permit holder (minor source) (28). 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 10 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: 36.6074, -104.6911.

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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 Colfax County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	New cases	15.9	13.9	1.14x	9.2 to 27	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.7	18.5	0.85x	8.6 to 27.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	112.9	143.2	0.79x	93.9 to 135.7	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	14.6	18.7	0.78x	8.7 to 24.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	16.7	23.8	0.7x	8.7 to 29.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	316.9	453.4	0.7x	279.9 to 358.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	18.4	30.2	0.61x	11.9 to 29	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	20	51.8	0.39x	13 to 31.1	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 Colfax County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,075.2	9,842.6	+33%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.2	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	143.6	96.9	+48%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	54.7	28.6	+91%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 10 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde9.08 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.34 per million
Acetaldehyde0.6 per million
Pahpom0.44 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit57
Rail grade crossing33
Air permit holder (minor source)28
Gas station (mapped facility)22
Brownfield property14
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)8
Scrapyard (mapped facility)5
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Solar power plant3
Major air pollution source2
Commercial airport2
Heliport2
Public airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Hazardous waste transporter1

Highest-severity records

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

Springer Correctional Facility
Correctional facility (prison or jail).
EPA FRS registry ID 110016811271 (U.S. EPA ECHO + SDWIS) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Raton Municipal Airport, Raton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070133424 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
The Village Of Angelfire, Wwtp, Angel Fire
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012304443 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Raton Municipal Airport, Raton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070112227 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Village Of Maxwell, Maxwell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006702880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Hidden Lake Development Wildfire Protection, Angel Fire
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071271393 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Village Of Angel Fire - Aci, Angel Fire
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071642611 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
City Of Raton, Raton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000734572 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Raton - Atsf, Raton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009457587 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Angel Fire Former Wastewater Treatment Plant, Angel Fire
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039536543 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Eagle Nest, Eagle Nest
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042231313 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Angel Fire - Old Wwt Lagoon, Angel Fire
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970151 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bisconti Property, Raton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976421 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Yucca Hotel, Raton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977575 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Jess L. Giordano Building, Raton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977576 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
216 / 220 S. 2nd St., Raton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071979041 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
El Rancho Cleaners, Raton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114923 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Millie'S Market, Raton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114924 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Miners Colfax Medical Center, Raton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114928 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
La Mesa Racetrack, Raton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114931 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Di Lisio Building, Raton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072135959 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Growraton Former Presbyterian Church And Parsonage, Raton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072154694 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Vermejo Park Corp, Raton
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110012882915 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Springer Water Treatment Plt., Springer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017696082 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Colfax County Airport At Angel Fire, Angel Fire
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071069736 (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.

Springer Correctional Facility
EPA FRS registry ID
110016811271
Water system
NM3500104
Health-based violations
30 all time, 5 in 5 years
All violations
70
Contaminants cited
TTHM
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Colfax 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 Colfax 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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