OK / county FIPS 40021 / county research

Cherokee County, Oklahoma: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cherokee County is 194.8 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 1.8 times the U.S. rate and Leukemia deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 113 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (58), Brownfield property (18), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (13). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 30 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: 35.8994, -95.0428.

How this county ranks in Oklahoma

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Cherokee County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	32.1	17.9	1.79xSignificant	25.4 to 40.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	53.2	30.2	1.76xSignificant	45.4 to 62	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	15	8.7	1.72xSignificant	10.8 to 20.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	9	5.7	1.58xSignificant	5.9 to 13.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	81	51.8	1.56xSignificant	71.3 to 91.8	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	9.1	6.2	1.47x	5.6 to 13.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	6.4	4.4	1.45x	3.6 to 10.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	194.8	143.2	1.36xSignificant	179.3 to 211.5	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5.2	4.1	1.27x	3 to 8.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.2	6.6	1.24x	5.3 to 12.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.9	4.8	1.23x	3.4 to 9.5	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	501.8	453.4	1.11xSignificant	475.7 to 529.1	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	14.1	13	1.08x	9.6 to 20.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.9	18.7	1.01x	14.4 to 24.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.6	14.5	1.01x	10.4 to 19.9	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.5	6.6	0.98x	3.8 to 10.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.3	13.9	0.88x	8.6 to 17.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.5	11.3	0.84x	6.4 to 13.8	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.7	18.5	0.74x	9.8 to 18.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	16.5	23.8	0.69x	12.1 to 22.2	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 Cherokee County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,007.7	9,842.6	+22%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	49.1	59.8	-18%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.2	6.2	-0%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	97.9	96.9	+1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	24.2	28.6	-15%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 30 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde20.95 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde1.96 per million
Benzene0.89 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)58
Brownfield property18
NPDES wastewater discharge permit13
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Public airport4
Small hazardous waste generator2
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Hydroelectric plant1
Rail grade crossing1
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.

Tahlequah Pwa, Tahlequah
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $44,375.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010283433 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Apac-Central Inc. Roberts Asphalt 4037, Tahlequah
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 74464PCRKN14199 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.8
Arkhola Div Apac Ak/Roberts Asphalt Plt, Tahlequah
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036119269 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hulbert Public Works Authority, Hulbert
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011008042 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
W.W. Hastings Hospital, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004743859 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Markoma Christian School, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038755656 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tahlequah Industrial Park , Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038755816 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cherokee Nation - Cort Mall, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040720814 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cherokee Courthouse Square Nc, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042232349 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Saline Courthouse, Rose
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043241097 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Dotson Roberts, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043636982 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cherokee Supreme Court Building, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060950216 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tahlequah Armory, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071964953 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Territorial Prison, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967629 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tahlequah Park, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972556 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Phoenix Park, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071979735 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Career Services Training Facility, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071980431 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Housing Authority Of Cherokee Nation (Hacn) 4th Street Project, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071980434 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tahlequah Waste Transfer Facility, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071987360 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tahlequah Basin Avenue, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072135869 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Morgan Street, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072135895 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sequoyah High School, Tahlequah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072154730 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hulbert Wtp, Hulbert
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064617133 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Lowe'S Of Tahlequah, Ok #1818, Tahlequah
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $141,730.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071192712 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Tahlequah Ms4, Tahlequah
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069489645 (U.S. EPA ECHO) 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.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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.

Scan an address in Cherokee County View on the heat map All Oklahoma counties