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Beckham County, Oklahoma: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Beckham County is 176.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 386 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (285), Rail grade crossing (54), Gas station (mapped facility) (22). 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: 35.2521, -99.6825.

How this county ranks in Oklahoma

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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 Beckham County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	50.2	30.2	1.66xSignificant	38.6 to 64.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	71.3	51.8	1.38xSignificant	57.4 to 87.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	176.7	143.2	1.23xSignificant	154.1 to 201.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.7	14.5	1.22x	10.9 to 27.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.3	17.9	1.19x	13.8 to 31.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.3	18.7	1.09x	13.4 to 29.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.7	13.9	1.06x	8.7 to 23.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	459.6	453.4	1.01x	422.3 to 499.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.6	18.5	0.79x	8.7 to 23.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.6	23.8	0.74x	10.7 to 27.2	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 Beckham County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,752.7	9,842.6	+19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.1	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	72	59.8	+20%	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	121.9	96.9	+26%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	21.4	28.6	-25%	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.

Formaldehyde16.27 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.78 per million
Acetaldehyde1.09 per million
Benzene0.73 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)285
Rail grade crossing54
Gas station (mapped facility)22
Public airport5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Brownfield property3
NPDES wastewater discharge permit3
Major air pollution source2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Commercial airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1
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.

Buffalo Creek Processing Plant, Sayre
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Methanol, 1,3-Butadiene. Reports carcinogens. 8,932 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7366WBFFLC11348 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Markwest Oklahoma Gas Co Llc / Buffalo Creek Processing Plant, Sayre
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046467088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Buffalo Creek Processing Plant, Sayre
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057004762 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Natural Gas Pipelin/Sta 184, Sayre
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007164077 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Elk City, City Of, Elk City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006644934 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Elk City Armory, Elk City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967512 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sayre Industrial Park, Sayre
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970692 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Elk City - Elk Elevator, Elk City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985588 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Odot/Southern Coatings Nbi#S 17486 And 17487, Elk City
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID x0ade086674beab5eb67fee32a81fdd80 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Elk City Batch Plant #2, Elk City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds.
TRI facility ID 7364WLKCTY121SP (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Midpoint Midstream Llc / Prentiss Compressor Station, Sayre
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $28,560.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038458852 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Sayre Muni, Sayre
Public airport. O.
Record ID 3O4 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Elk City Rgnl Business, Elk City
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ELK (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Haddock Fld, Erick
Public airport. O.
Record ID O13 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Love'S Travel Stop #201 - Elk City, Elk City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009820293 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Erick, City Of, Erick
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064600766 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Oneok - Ogt - Mayfield Compressor Station, Sweetwater
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071192763 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Main, Elk City
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 597458B (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Washington St., Elk City
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 597459H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Randall St., Elk City
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 597460C (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
, Elk City
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 597463X (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
, Elk City
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 597466T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Jma Energy Company / Carnahan 2 19h, New Liberty
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110071941567 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.3
Jma Energy Company / Charley 1 24h, Berlin
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110071941568 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.3
Jma Energy Company / Rosselyn Blake 1 24h, New Liberty
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110072112049 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.3

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 Beckham County

Oklahoma 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 Beckham County, and their findings.
Oklahoma vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Oklahoma health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Oklahoma 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.
Oklahoma 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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