OR / county FIPS 41001 / county research

Baker County, Oregon: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Baker County is 172.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 182 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (79), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (37), Gas station (mapped facility) (17). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 44.6674, -117.7985.

How this county ranks in Oregon

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 Baker County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	12.1	6.6	1.83xSignificant	6.7 to 20.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41	30.2	1.36xSignificant	31.4 to 53.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	172.4	143.2	1.2xSignificant	150.7 to 196.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.1	11.3	1.07x	6.8 to 20.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	13.5	13.9	0.97x	7.4 to 23.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.2	14.5	0.91x	7 to 23.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.4	17.9	0.86x	9 to 25.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	40.5	51.8	0.78x	30.5 to 53.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	315	453.4	0.69x	283.5 to 349.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	12.7	18.7	0.68x	7.9 to 20.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	11.8	18.5	0.64x	6.2 to 21	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	12.8	23.8	0.54x	6.7 to 22.5	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 Baker County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,080.3	9,842.6	+2%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.2	75.3	-0%	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	129	96.9	+33%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	20	28.6	-30%	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.

Formaldehyde13.65 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.66 per million
Acetaldehyde1.75 per million
Naphthalene1.53 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 304 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 29, peak 85.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing79
NPDES wastewater discharge permit37
Gas station (mapped facility)17
Brownfield property14
Wind power plant6
Public airport5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Heliport4
Major air pollution source2
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Solar power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Hydroelectric plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
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.

Ash Grove Cement Company, Huntington
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $866,985.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017417776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Ash Grove Cement Co, Durkee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Zinc compounds, Mercury compounds, Chromium and 2 more. 61,353 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97905SHGRV330CE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Huntington Stp, Huntington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $36,115.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006696450 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Ash Grove Cement Company, Huntington
Major air pollution source. Penalties $866,985.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017417776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Baker City Wwtp, Baker City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006618197 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ash Grove Cement Company, Huntington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $866,985.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017417776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Oxbow Dam, Oxbow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054613263 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Northwest Pipeline Llc, Baker City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007169928 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
General Farm Supply Former, Baker
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014097351 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sumpter Store Museum, Sumpter
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030979412 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lime Cement Plant - Former, Lime
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038698193 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sumpter Valley Dredge Tailing Restoration, Baker City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038731469 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Baker Gasification Plant, Baker City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038748219 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Huntington Former Service Station, Huntington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040720627 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ostwald Machine Shop Site, Baker City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042135793 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Elkhorn Industrial Park, Baker City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967057 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Baker School District 10th St Lot, Baker City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974521 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Ford Garage, Baker City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974522 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Ellingson Timber, Baker City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975658 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ioof Lodge #25, Baker City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976083 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Pioneer West Bank (Former), Baker City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978948 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Central Building, Baker City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071984377 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ash Grove Cement Company, Huntington
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $866,985.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017417776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Baker City Muni, Baker City
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID BKE (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Haines Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1498675395 (OpenStreetMap contributors) 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.

Powder River Correctional Facility‎, Baker
EPA FRS registry ID
110004801368
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Baker County

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