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Socorro County, New Mexico: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Socorro County is 150.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 240 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (120), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (44), Gas station (mapped facility) (13). 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: 34.0209, -106.8208.

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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 Socorro County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	New cases	13.8	8.7	1.59x	8.3 to 22.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.7	17.9	1.21x	13.1 to 34	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	150.1	143.2	1.05x	128.2 to 175.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	13.6	13.9	0.98x	7.5 to 23.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	26.4	30.2	0.87x	18 to 37.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	390.9	453.4	0.86x	353 to 432	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.3	18.5	0.83x	8.4 to 25.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	30.3	51.8	0.58x	21.3 to 42.4	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 Socorro County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	17,605.4	9,842.6	+79%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	93.9	59.8	+57%	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	171.2	96.9	+77%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	87.8	28.6	+207%	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.

Formaldehyde9.92 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.48 per million
Acetaldehyde0.58 per million
Pahpom0.39 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 98 days: 96 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 17, peak 85.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing120
NPDES wastewater discharge permit44
Gas station (mapped facility)13
Air permit holder (minor source)12
Scrapyard (mapped facility)12
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)9
Industrial wastewater discharge9
Public airport4
Small hazardous waste generator4
Brownfield property3
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

Eagle Picher Carefree Battery, Socorro
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NMD001829506 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
City Of Socorro Wastewater Treatment Plant, Socorro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064863492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Socorro, City Of, Socorro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000734590 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Salome Scrap Metal Recycling, Socorro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004282918 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Magdalena School, Magdalena
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038744302 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Nine Mile Hill, Gran Quivira
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039536534 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Whole Foods, Gran Quivira
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060691498 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bnsf Railway Co. - Sabinal, Bosque
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072043208 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
City Of Socorro Landfill, Socorro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064864669 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Socorro Municipal Airport, Socorro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022714767 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Magdalena, Magdalena
Public airport. O.
Record ID N29 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Socorro Muni, Socorro
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ONM (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1553097354 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1553097402 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill, Socorro
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/228917636 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/580307400 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
New Mexico Tech Mercury Spill, Socorro
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004271733 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pareo Dairy, Veguita
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011028315 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Othart Dairy #1, Veguita
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022769388 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
A-1 Quality Redi Mix, Gcp5-3610, Socorro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022789393 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Amador Complete Recycling, Inc., Polvadera
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038861256 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Haw Farms, Socorro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064626613 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ups-Socorro, Socorro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069209984 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tractor Supply Socorro, Socorro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070066689 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bear To Magdalena, Magdalena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070110243 (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 Socorro 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 Socorro 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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