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Los Alamos County, New Mexico: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Los Alamos County is 105.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 163 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (120), Wastewater plant (mapped facility) (8), Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility) (6). 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: 35.8639, -106.324.

How this county ranks in New Mexico

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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 Los Alamos County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	36	23.8	1.51xSignificant	26 to 49	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.5	13.9	1.12x	9.2 to 24.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.3	14.5	0.92x	7.8 to 21.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	376.5	453.4	0.83x	342.6 to 413.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.1	18.7	0.81x	9.2 to 23.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	105.2	143.2	0.73x	88.1 to 125	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.1	18.5	0.71x	7.5 to 21.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	18.4	51.8	0.36x	11.7 to 27.9	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 Los Alamos County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	3,583.3	9,842.6	-64%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	83	75.3	+10%	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	71.5	96.9	-26%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde9.45 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.35 per million
Acetaldehyde0.62 per million
Pahpom0.43 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 82 days: 82 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 13, peak 42.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit120
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
Air permit holder (minor source)5
Gas station (mapped facility)4
Small hazardous waste generator3
Hazardous waste transporter3
Landfill (mapped facility)3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Major air pollution source1
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Solar power plant1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $415,685.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010571880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.4
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos
Major air pollution source. Penalties $415,685.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010571880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
U.S. Department Of Energy Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Mercury. Reports carcinogens. 5,438 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 87544SDLSL52835 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $415,685.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010571880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $415,685.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010571880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos
Hazardous waste transporter. Penalties $415,685.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010571880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Mirador Subdivision, White Rock
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070235309 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Los Alamos Nat'L Lab Industria, Los Alamos
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064642445 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Los Alamos County-White Rock P, White Rock
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009831209 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Ta-54 Cmp Retrieval, Los Alamos
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070235529 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Los Alamos, Los Alamos
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID LAM (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID relation/16006708 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID relation/16018992 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID relation/16018993 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1461823491 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1524293718 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1524293727 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Los Alamos County Sewage Treatment Facility, Los Alamos
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/218147459 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/670960067 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
TA-46 WTP, Los Alamos
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/863272584 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
White Rock WTP, White Rock
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/863278424 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/977758841 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Los Alamos Transit Mix, Llc., Los Alamos
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010655736 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Los Alamos Medical Center, Los Alamos
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007976761 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Los Alamos County Landfill, Los Alamos
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010782251 (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 Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos 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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