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Lincoln County, New Mexico: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lincoln County is 118.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 176 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (88), Air permit holder (minor source) (28), Gas station (mapped facility) (16). 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: 33.7044, -105.4721.

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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 Lincoln County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7	6.6	1.06x	3.9 to 12.9	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	19.7	18.7	1.05x	13.8 to 28.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.8	14.5	1.02x	8.9 to 23.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.8	18.5	1.02x	11.8 to 28.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.4	17.9	0.97x	11.5 to 26.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.4	8.7	0.97x	5.1 to 14.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.5	13.9	0.9x	7.4 to 20.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	118.5	143.2	0.83x	103.1 to 136.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	353.1	453.4	0.78x	323.1 to 385.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	8.6	11.3	0.76x	4.6 to 15.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	13.7	23.8	0.58x	8.7 to 21.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	16.2	30.2	0.54x	11.1 to 23.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	25.3	51.8	0.49x	18.8 to 34.2	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 Lincoln County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,621	9,842.6	+28%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.8	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	74.6	59.8	+25%	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	136.1	96.9	+40%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	42.8	28.6	+50%	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.

Formaldehyde9.93 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.34 per million
Acetaldehyde0.55 per million
Benzene0.31 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 161 days: 110 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 44, peak 108.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit88
Air permit holder (minor source)28
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Rail grade crossing16
Landfill (mapped facility)7
Scrapyard (mapped facility)5
Public airport4
Major air pollution source3
EPA air quality monitor2
Brownfield property2
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Solar 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.

Sierra Blanca Rgnl, Ruidoso
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID SRR (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Cds Rainmakers Utilities, Llc, Lincoln Coulty
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011027085 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Corona Compressor Station, Corona
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022693575 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Lincoln Compressor Station, Corona
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040937458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
South Central Mountain Resouce Conservation And Development Council Inc, Ruidoso Downs
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071270006 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ruidoso-Ruidoso Downs Wwtp, Ruidoso
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010721950 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Smokey Bear Historical Park Depot, Capitan
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971153 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Carrizozo Recreation Center, Carrizozo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981638 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Station #8 - Corona Cmp Stn, Capitan
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007976002 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Ruidoso Concrete, Ruidoso
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064780394 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Mv Gcp Hma 1, Las Cruces
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070941390 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Universal Waste Systems, Inc., Ruidoso Downs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071866211 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Ruidoso/Ruidoso Downs Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, Ruidoso Downs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071953461 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Carrizozo Muni, Carrizozo
Public airport. O.
Record ID F37 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/379974949 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/380011728 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/380170138 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/380172502 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/380208701 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/380293004 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/380293009 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Lincoln County Medical Center, Ruidoso
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004276239 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wal-Mart Supercenter 851, Ruidoso Downs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006091601 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Us70 Hwy. Reconstruction, Ruidoso Downs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015599459 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Us70 Highway Reconstruction, Lincoln
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015599468 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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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