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Morrow County, Oregon: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Morrow County is 180.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 150 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (75), Rail grade crossing (22), Wind power plant (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: 45.4653, -119.5751.

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 Morrow County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	180.1	143.2	1.26xSignificant	149.2 to 215.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	36	30.2	1.19x	23.7 to 52.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	52	51.8	1x	36.8 to 71.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	366.5	453.4	0.81x	322.8 to 414.8	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 Morrow County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,668.7	9,842.6	-12%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.5	75.3	+2%	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	72.5	96.9	-25%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde17.2 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Naphthalene2.42 per million
Acetaldehyde2.41 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit75
Rail grade crossing22
Wind power plant13
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Large greenhouse gas emitter6
Major air pollution source5
TRI reporting facility4
Gas power plant3
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Public airport2
Biomass power plant2
Brownfield property1
Superfund (NPL) site1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)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.

Umatilla Army Depot (Lagoons), Hermiston
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 31.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID OR6213820917 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Alto Columbia Llc, Boardman
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, Ammonia, n-Hexane, Phenol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 89,180 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97818PCFCT71335 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Boardman Plant, Boardman
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, n-Hexane, Mercury And Mercury Compounds, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,498 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97818BRDMN73334 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Lamb Weston Inc., Boardman
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 99,517 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9781WLMBWS75NEC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Wof Pnw Threemile Project Llc, Boardman
Major air pollution source. Penalties $17,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035771901 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Wof Pnw Threemile Project Llc, Boardman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $17,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035771901 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Lamb Weston Inc, Boardman
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 13,302 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97818LMBWSCOLUM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Lamb Weston Boardman-East Facility, Boardman
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063157168 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Pacific Ethanol Columbia, Llc, Boardman
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031262112 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Interstate Concrete & Asphalt Boardman, Boardman
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead And Lead Compounds. 2,473 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9781WNTRST71427 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Interstate Concrete & Asphalt Boardman, Boardman
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071935297 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Columbia River Processing, Boardman
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid. 1,250 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97818CLMBR79588 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Columbia River Processing, Boardman
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012534622 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Lamb Weston Boardman-West Facility, Boardman
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014074811 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Coyote Springs Power Generating Facility, Boardman
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000488847 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Finley Buttes Regional Landfill, Boardman
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004806425 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gtn Pipeline Compressor Station 9, Ione
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007739322 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Carty Generation Station, Boardman
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070131990 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Carty Generating Station, Boardman
Gas power plant.
Record ID 58503 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.4
Coyote Springs Ii, Boardman
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7931 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.3
Heppner Stp, Heppner
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006696405 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Coyote Springs, Boardman
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7350 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.2
Ione Gas, Ione
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028225775 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Carty Generation Station, Boardman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070131990 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Columbia River Technologies, Boardman
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid.
TRI facility ID 9781WCLMBR79588 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3

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 Morrow 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 Morrow 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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