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Josephine County, Oregon: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Josephine County is 172.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Bladder deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 319 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (188), Rail grade crossing (44), Gas station (mapped facility) (33). 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: 42.3907, -123.6336.

How this county ranks in Oregon

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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 Josephine County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	Deaths	6.7	4.1	1.63xSignificant	5.1 to 8.8	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	4.8	3.7	1.3x	3.5 to 6.7	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.5	2	1.25x	1.4 to 4.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.7	30.2	1.25xSignificant	33.5 to 42.3	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.7	4.6	1.24x	4.1 to 7.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	172.2	143.2	1.2xSignificant	162.9 to 182	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	61.9	51.8	1.19xSignificant	56.6 to 67.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.5	17.9	1.15x	17 to 24.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.3	18.7	1.14x	18.1 to 25	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.8	8.7	1.13x	7.6 to 12.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25.8	23.8	1.08x	21.8 to 30.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.2	4.8	1.08x	3.7 to 7.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.7	4.4	1.07x	3.2 to 6.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11.9	11.3	1.05x	9.6 to 14.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.9	6.6	1.05x	5.3 to 9.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	459.8	453.4	1.01x	443.1 to 477	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14	13.9	1.01x	11.3 to 17.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	12.9	13	0.99x	9.6 to 16.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.5	5.7	0.96x	4 to 7.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.1	3.4	0.91x	1.9 to 4.9	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.3	6.2	0.85x	3.6 to 7.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15	18.5	0.81x	12.3 to 18.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	10.6	14.5	0.73x	8 to 13.9	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	1.9	2.7	0.7x	1.1 to 3.3	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	3.9	6.6	0.59x	2.6 to 5.7	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 Josephine County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,791.2	9,842.6	+10%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.6	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	54.1	59.8	-10%	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	133.5	96.9	+38%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	37.1	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.

Formaldehyde18.82 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.84 per million
Acetaldehyde2.83 per million
Naphthalene2.45 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 249 good, 8 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 33, peak 208.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit188
Rail grade crossing44
Gas station (mapped facility)33
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)13
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)10
Brownfield property8
Public airport6
EPA air quality monitor3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Major air pollution source2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

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

Masterbrand Cabinets, Inc., Grants Pass
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000488687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.7
Becklin Holdings Inc, Grants Pass
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 8,172 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97527NVRNM3560R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Masterbrand Cabinets Llc-Grants Pass Operations, Grants Pass
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Butyl alcohol, Toluene, Certain glycol ethers, Xylene (mixed isomers). 320,161 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97526DMNDC550SE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Ecs, Grants Pass
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000488703 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Grants Pass - Parkside Elementary School (GPP), Grants Pass
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 410330114 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5.1
Masterbrand Cabinets, Inc., Grants Pass
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000488687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Grants Pass Stp, Grants Pass
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045420157 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Masterbrand Cabinets, Inc., Grants Pass
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000488687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Masterbrand Cabinets, Inc., Grants Pass
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000488687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Timber Products Co (Dba Tim Ply), Grants Pass
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 97526TMBRP125MI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Riviera Mobile Home Park, Grants Pass
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014205127 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Tp Grants Pass, Llc, Grants Pass
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001655343 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Grants Pass Water Filtration Plant, Grants Pass
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006697930 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Home Depot 4034, Grants Pass
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046090564 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tp Grants Pass, Llc, Grants Pass
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001655343 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Fleming Middle School, Merlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006802987 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Former Josephine County Hospital, Grants Pass
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038757404 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Merlin, Merlin
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967085 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Grants Pass, Grants Pass
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967088 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Grants Pass River Road Reserve, Grants Pass
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968005 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Josephine County Hospital A Street Building, Grants Pass
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974459 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Spalding & Son Property, Grants Pass
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977301 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sukhwinder Property, Grants Pass
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071979796 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ausland Property, Grants Pass
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985092 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Oregon Caves National Monument, Cave Junction
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014186380 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5

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 Josephine 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 Josephine 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.

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