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Pontotoc County, Oklahoma: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Pontotoc County is 164 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 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 194 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (82), Rail grade crossing (39), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (30). 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: 34.7169, -96.6695.

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 Pontotoc County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	7	4.6	1.52x	3.9 to 11.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	44	30.2	1.46xSignificant	36.1 to 53.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	12.4	8.7	1.43x	8.3 to 17.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.8	17.9	1.39xSignificant	18.5 to 32.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7.5	5.7	1.32x	4.4 to 12.1	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.8	6.2	1.26x	4.5 to 12.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.1	6.6	1.23x	5 to 12.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	62.1	51.8	1.2xSignificant	52.6 to 73	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	164	143.2	1.15xSignificant	148.1 to 181.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	15.5	14.5	1.07x	10.7 to 21.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.8	13	1.06x	8.8 to 20.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.5	13.9	1.04x	9.9 to 20.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.5	11.3	1.02x	7.5 to 17	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	454.7	453.4	1x	426.9 to 483.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.5	18.5	1x	13.4 to 25.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18	18.7	0.96x	13 to 24.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.3	23.8	0.73x	12.2 to 23.8	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 Pontotoc County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,576.7	9,842.6	+38%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.7	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	78.4	59.8	+31%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7	6.2	+13%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	118.2	96.9	+22%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	20.1	28.6	-30%	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.

Formaldehyde21.9 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde1.81 per million
Benzene0.89 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2024

Monitored on 289 days: 207 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 43, peak 101.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)82
Rail grade crossing39
NPDES wastewater discharge permit30
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
TRI reporting facility4
Major air pollution source3
Large hazardous waste generator3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Brownfield property2
Heliport2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1

Highest-severity records

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

Holcim (Us) Inc - Ada Plant, Ada
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 514,159 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 74820DLCMN1100W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Flex-N-Gate Oklahoma L.L.C., Ada
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, Cyclohexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 75,901 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 74820JPMCNONEGE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Holcim Us Inc/Ada Plt, Ada
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $24,990.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001633796 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.9
Flex N Gate Oklahoma Llc/Ada Molding Plt, Ada
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000455908 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Ada, City Of, Ada
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064255461 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Holcim Us Inc/Ada Plt, Ada
Major air pollution source. Penalties $24,990.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001633796 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Rustin Ada Rmc Plant, Ada
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 2 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7482WDRMCP17454 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Apex Composites, Ada
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004742672 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Holcim Us Inc/Ada Plt, Ada
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $24,990.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001633796 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Apex Composites Llc, Ada
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid. 51 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7482WPXCMP414CH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.3
Holcim Us Inc/Ada Plt, Ada
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $24,990.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001633796 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Ada Batch Plant, Ada
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055499330 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Sunoco Pipeline Lp / Allen Crude Oil Pipeline Station, Allen
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007166226 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Centerpoint Engry G/Ada Storage Sta, Ada
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007385980 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Flex N Gate Oklahoma Llc/Ada Molding Plt, Ada
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000455908 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Holcim Us Inc/Ada Plt, Ada
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $24,990.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001633796 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Francis Wwt, Francis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011007347 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Allen Armory , Allen
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967291 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Stonewall Nursing Home, Stonewall
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974210 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Apex Composites, Ada
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004742672 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Covia Roff Resin, Roff
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072204216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Ada Batch Plant, Ada
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds.
TRI facility ID 7482WDLSBR1727N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Home Depot Store #3918, Ada
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $285,363.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032991369 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Allen, Town Of, Allen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011009791 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Ada Rgnl, Ada
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ADH (FAA / U.S. DOT)
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 Pontotoc 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 Pontotoc 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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