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Lea County, New Mexico: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lea County is 145.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,510 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (1,117), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (128), Rail grade crossing (97). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 40 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: 32.7915, -103.4396.

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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 Lea County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	12.2	6.6	1.85xSignificant	8.7 to 16.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	13.7	8.7	1.57xSignificant	10 to 18.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.7	3.4	1.38x	2.7 to 7.6	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	8.8	6.6	1.33x	5.8 to 12.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.7	3.7	1.27x	2.8 to 7.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7.2	5.7	1.26x	4.6 to 10.8	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6	4.8	1.25x	3.6 to 9.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	16.7	14.5	1.15x	12.6 to 21.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.4	17.9	1.08x	15 to 24.7	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	17.7	16.4	1.08x	10.1 to 28.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	145.2	143.2	1.01x	132.3 to 159	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	26	30.2	0.86x	20.6 to 32.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.1	6.2	0.82x	2.9 to 8.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	40.6	51.8	0.78x	33.9 to 48.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	10.8	13.9	0.78x	7.6 to 15	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	8.7	11.3	0.77x	5.8 to 12.5	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	348.8	453.4	0.77x	328.9 to 369.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18	23.8	0.76x	13.7 to 23.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	12.5	18.5	0.68x	9 to 17	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	8	13	0.62x	5.3 to 11.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	11.4	18.7	0.61x	8 to 15.8	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 Lea County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,672.9	9,842.6	+29%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.6	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	46.5	59.8	-22%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.1	6.2	-18%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	110.9	96.9	+14%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	29.9	28.6	+5%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 40 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde26.8 per million
Benzene3.32 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.61 per million
Acetaldehyde1.21 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 251 good, 8 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 44, peak 193.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,510 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Air permit holder (minor source)1,117
NPDES wastewater discharge permit128
Rail grade crossing97
Gas station (mapped facility)45
Major air pollution source28
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)17
TRI reporting facility13
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)11
Small hazardous waste generator9
Large greenhouse gas emitter7
Hazardous waste transporter5
Solar power plant5
Public airport4
Gas power plant4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Landfill (mapped facility)3
Wind power plant3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Large hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)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.

Red Hills Gas Processing Plant, Jal
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $47,833,048.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043218853 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Maljamar Gas Processing Plant, Maljamar
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen sulfide, Toluene, n-Hexane, Formaldehyde and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 22,456,404 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8826WMLJMR11CNC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Jal 3 Gas Plant, Jal
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen sulfide, Formaldehyde, n-Hexane, Methanol and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 14,432,768 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 88252JL3GS115SI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Monument Gas Plant, Monument
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen sulfide, n-Hexane, Benzene, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 4,935,580 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8426WMNMNT821WH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.6
East Vacuum Liquid Recovery Plant/Co2 Plant, Lovington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Cyclohexane, n-Hexane, Benzene, Toluene and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 4,469,988 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8826WSTVCM29VAC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.6
Dark Horse Treating Facility, Jal
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen sulfide. 131,329,964 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8825WDRKHR465WN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.2
Red Hills Gas Plant, Jal
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzene, Toluene, n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 995,303 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8825WRDHLL24MIW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Targa - Eunice Gas Processing Plant, Eunice
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007014337 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9
Eunice Gas Plant, Eunice
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Cyclohexane, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 129,496 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8823WTRGNC1MISE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Hollyfrontier Navajo Refining Llc - Lea Refinery, Lovington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Hydrogen sulfide, Toluene, Cyclohexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 51,345 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 88260LRFNNSOUTH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Zia Ii Gas Plant, Lovington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, n-Hexane, Methanol, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 49,362 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8826WZGSPL89LUS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Championx-Hobbs, Hobbs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Methanol, Xylene (mixed isomers), Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 26,050 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 88240CHMPN2MILE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Eunice Plant, Oil Center
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen sulfide, Benzene. Reports carcinogens. 24,880 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8824WNCPLN136ST (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Dkl Libby Gas Plant, Hobbs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzene, n-Hexane, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 13,563 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8824WLBBYG674MA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Red Hills Gas Processing Plant, Jal
Major air pollution source. Penalties $47,833,048.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043218853 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Linam Ranch Plant, Hobbs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Benzene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,874 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8824WLNMRN11525 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Buckeye Co2 Plant, Lovington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Cyclohexane, Benzene, Toluene and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,002 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8826WBCKYC4TEXA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Maljamar Gas Processing Plant, Maljamar
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000534020 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
East Vacuum Liquid Recovery Plant/Co2 Plant, Lovington
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043815609 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Targa - Eunice Gas Processing Plant, Eunice
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007014337 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Occidental - North Hobbs Unit Rcf & Wib, Hobbs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Methanol, Cyclohexane. 32,884 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8824WCCDNT275MI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Linam Ranch Plant, Hobbs
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $31,604,866.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010775492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Coastal Chemical Co. Llc, Hobbs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ethylene glycol, Diethanolamine. 24,035 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8824WCSTLC221WE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Monument Gas Plant, Monument
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007973933 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Jal #3 Gas Plant, Jal
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055500006 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3

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 Lea 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 Lea 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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