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Otero County, New Mexico: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Otero County is 155.1 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 1.6 times the U.S. rate and Bladder deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 256 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (111), Air permit holder (minor source) (39), Gas station (mapped facility) (31). 2 correctional facilities operate in the county. 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: 32.6722, -105.8644.

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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 Otero County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	10.7	6.6	1.62xSignificant	7.8 to 14.3	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	6.4	4.1	1.56xSignificant	4.3 to 9.4	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	6.6	4.4	1.5x	4.2 to 9.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	12.4	8.7	1.43xSignificant	9.3 to 16.4	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.2	6.2	1.32x	5.5 to 11.8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.9	6.6	1.2x	5.3 to 11.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	155.1	143.2	1.08x	143.2 to 167.7	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.8	4.6	1.04x	3 to 7.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.9	4.8	1.02x	3 to 7.7	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	12.4	13	0.95x	8.9 to 16.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.8	18.7	0.95x	14 to 22.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.9	17.9	0.94x	12.9 to 21.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.7	13.9	0.91x	9.5 to 16.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	389.8	453.4	0.86x	370.3 to 410	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.8	18.5	0.85x	12.2 to 20.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	25.1	30.2	0.83x	20.7 to 30.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	43	51.8	0.83x	37.1 to 49.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	8.8	11.3	0.78x	6.2 to 12.1	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17	23.8	0.71x	13.2 to 21.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	8.5	14.5	0.59x	5.9 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 Otero County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,127.7	9,842.6	+13%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.9	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	72.1	59.8	+21%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.3	6.2	+18%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	107.8	96.9	+11%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	26.8	28.6	-6%	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.

Formaldehyde11.4 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.47 per million
Ethylene Oxide0.89 per million
Acetaldehyde0.62 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit111
Air permit holder (minor source)39
Gas station (mapped facility)31
Rail grade crossing22
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)11
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)8
Scrapyard (mapped facility)6
Small hazardous waste generator5
Solar power plant4
Public airport3
Large hazardous waste generator3
Major air pollution source2
Commercial airport2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Brownfield property1
Heliport1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Us Dod Usaf Holloman Afb, Holloman Afb
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead, Ethylbenzene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 935,089 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 88330HLLMNHWY70 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Holloman Air Force Base, Holloman Afb
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042049253 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.2
Us Dod Usaf Holloman Afb Range, Holloman Afb
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Aluminum (fume or dust). Reports carcinogens. 10,888 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 88330SRFRCHWY70 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Holloman Air Force Base, Holloman Afb
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042049253 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Holloman Air Force Base, Holloman Afb
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042049253 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Holloman Air Force Base, Holloman Afb
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042049253 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Otero/Greentree Regional Landfill, Alamogordo
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022769333 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Basin Pipe And Metal, Inc., Alamogordo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067018596 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Penasco Gravel Inc., Mayhill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064867577 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Rd Blankenship Dirt Work, Llc, La Luz
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067031580 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
North 54 Salvage, Inc., Alamogordo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069346176 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Act Now Recycling Center, Alamogordo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070519274 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Southwest Metal, Llc, Chaparral
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071668289 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Former Municipal Landfill, Alamogordo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038752882 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sacramento Peak Observatory, Sunspot
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006091479 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Usadacenfb, Mcgregor Rang Camp
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060731089 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cloudcroft Gravel, Cloudcroft
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071848466 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Main Plant, Alamogordo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070079627 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Lowes Home Center #1761, Alamogordo
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $141,730.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014439580 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Lowes Home Center #1761, Alamogordo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $141,730.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014439580 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
The Home Depot Store #3516, Alamogordo
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $285,363.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061403734 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
La Luz Pit, La Luz
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064780401 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Alamogordo-White Sands Rgnl, Alamogordo
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ALM (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Timberon, Alamogordo
Public airport. O.
Record ID E02 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1066971606 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2

Correctional facilities

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

Otero County Detention Center, Alamogordo
EPA FRS registry ID
110070694677
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report
Mescalero Adult Detention Center, Mescalero
EPA FRS registry ID
110071280351
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Otero 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 Otero 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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