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Sierra County, New Mexico: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Sierra County is 161 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 112 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (40), Air permit holder (minor source) (18), Gas station (mapped facility) (15). 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: 33.0422, -107.1098.

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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 Sierra County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	27.3	18.7	1.46x	17.4 to 42.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	15.3	11.3	1.35x	7.2 to 29.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	19	14.5	1.31x	10.1 to 33.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	161	143.2	1.12x	136.9 to 189.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	31.8	30.2	1.05x	22.5 to 45.8	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.5	23.8	0.99x	12.6 to 40.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	427.1	453.4	0.94x	380.7 to 478.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	44	51.8	0.85x	32.6 to 60	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 Sierra County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	17,438	9,842.6	+77%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	69.6	75.3	-8%	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	194.4	96.9	+100%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	68	28.6	+138%	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.

Formaldehyde10.43 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.51 per million
Acetaldehyde0.66 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

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit40
Air permit holder (minor source)18
Gas station (mapped facility)15
Rail grade crossing11
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)9
Scrapyard (mapped facility)5
Public airport2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Solar power plant2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Hydroelectric 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.

City Of Truth Or Consequences Landfill, Truth Or Consequences
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013987034 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Truth Or Consequences (City Of) - Wastewater Treatment Plant, Truth Or Consequences
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022710743 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
St. Cloud Mining Company, Winston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064877245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Sierra County Regional Wwtp, Truth Or Consequences
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064634560 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Truth Or Consequences Muni, Truth Or Consequences
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID TCS (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Sierra County Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/142809060 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Truth or Consequences Municipal Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/142809062 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1520153527 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Elephant Butte WWTP
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/528785326 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Mesilla Valley Chili Co., Arrey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071154870 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Caballo Dairy, Arrey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011031631 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Barrera Dairy, Arrey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011031702 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
St. Cloud Mining Co., Winston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012804457 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
T Or C New Town, Truth Or Consequences
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022284188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ashbaugh Construction Co., Inc, Truth Or Consequences
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055246434 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bartoo Sand & Gravel, Inc., Truth Of Consequences
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064613397 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Virgin Galactic - Spaceport America, Truth Or Consequences
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067203939 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Poor Pauls Recycling, Truth Or Consequences
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069345417 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Reeds Recycle, Williamsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070000125 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Truth Or Consequences, City Of, Truth Or Consequences
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070003681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Elephant Butte Waterline Installation, Elephant Butte
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070530292 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Spinlaunch Site, Truth Or Consequences
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070548112 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hawk 30, Truth Or Consequences
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070704377 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ralph Edwards Park, Truth Or Consequences
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070824526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mona Avenue Roadway, Drainage, Water And Improvements, Williamsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071254015 (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 Sierra 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 Sierra 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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