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Klamath County, Oregon: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Klamath County is 180.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate and Esophagus deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 478 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (162), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (155), Gas station (mapped facility) (38). 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: 42.7903, -121.8166.

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 Klamath County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	10.9	6.6	1.65xSignificant	8.3 to 14.2	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	5.7	3.7	1.54xSignificant	3.8 to 8.4	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5.7	4.1	1.39x	3.7 to 8.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6.2	4.6	1.35x	4.2 to 8.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.7	4.4	1.3x	3.7 to 8.5	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	24.1	18.7	1.29xSignificant	19.8 to 29	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	180.7	143.2	1.26xSignificant	169 to 193.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.6	30.2	1.25xSignificant	32.5 to 43.4	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	15.4	13	1.18x	11.2 to 20.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	27.7	23.8	1.16x	22.8 to 33.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10	8.7	1.15x	7.4 to 13.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.8	3.4	1.12x	2.4 to 6	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.3	11.3	1.09x	9.4 to 16	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	438	453.4	0.97x	418.7 to 457.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.5	4.8	0.94x	2.8 to 7	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.2	5.7	0.91x	3.4 to 7.8	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.6	6.2	0.9x	3.6 to 8.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	45.9	51.8	0.89x	40.2 to 52.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.3	17.9	0.85x	11.8 to 19.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11.4	14.5	0.79x	8.4 to 15.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.6	18.5	0.74x	10.5 to 17.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	10	13.9	0.72x	7.4 to 13.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	3	6.6	0.45x	1.7 to 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 Klamath County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,781.7	9,842.6	+20%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.3	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	71.9	59.8	+20%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.8	6.2	+25%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	121.7	96.9	+26%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	27.3	28.6	-5%	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.

Formaldehyde14.91 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.62 per million
Acetaldehyde2.07 per million
Naphthalene1.6 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 235 good, 3 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 38, peak 149.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing162
NPDES wastewater discharge permit155
Gas station (mapped facility)38
Brownfield property33
Public airport13
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)11
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)11
Solar power plant10
Major air pollution source8
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
TRI reporting facility6
Small hazardous waste generator4
Hydroelectric plant4
EPA air quality monitor3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Heliport2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Gas power plant2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

North Ridge Estates, Klamath Falls
Superfund (NPL) site. NPL Site.
EPA site ID ORN001002476 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Collins Products Llc, Klamath Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formaldehyde, Lead, Zinc compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,560,923 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97601WYRHSWEYER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Dba Jeld-Wen, Klamath Falls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067272061 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.4
Collins Products, Klamath Falls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000601527 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.8
Columbia Forest Products, Klamath Falls
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $8,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013854917 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Klamath Falls Wastewater Plant, Klamath Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006698047 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
U.S. Dod Usaf Kingsley Field Ang, Klamath Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 606 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97603SRFRC173FW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Columbia Forest Products, Klamath Falls
Major air pollution source. Penalties $8,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013854917 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Jeld-Wen, Klamath Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Diisocyanates. 21,352 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97601JLDWN3250L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Dba Jeld-Wen, Klamath Falls
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067272061 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Gilchrist Forest Products Llc, Gilchrist
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 95 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97737CRWNPNO1SA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Columbia Forest Products, Klamath Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $8,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013854917 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Klamath Falls - Peterson Elementary School (KFP), Klamath Falls
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 410350004 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5.8
South Suburban Sanitary District Stp, Klamath Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $7,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014169531 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Dba Jeld-Wen, Klamath Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067272061 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Columbia Forest Products, Klamath Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 32 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97601CLMBPHWY97 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Interfor Gilchrist Division, Gilchrist
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001655414 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Crater Lake/Klamath Rgnl, Klamath Falls
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID LMT (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Collins Products, Klamath Falls
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000601527 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Klamath Cogeneration Project, Klamath Falls
Major air pollution source. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006911404 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Collins Products, Klamath Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000601527 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Jeld Wen Incorporated, Chiloquin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000601536 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Interfor Gilchrist Division, Gilchrist
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001655414 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Round Lake Utilities, Klamath Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014262920 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Knife River Materials, Klamath Falls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031019813 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Usda Usfs R06 Dell Springs Usfs Work Camp Site, Crescent
EPA FRS registry ID
110012257529
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Klamath 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 Klamath 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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