OR / county FIPS 41055 / county research

Sherman County, Oregon: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Sherman County is 143.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 50 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (15), Gas station (mapped facility) (10), Rail grade crossing (8). 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: 45.411, -120.6857.

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 Sherman County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	143.9	143.2	1x	92 to 222	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	385	453.4	0.85x	287.3 to 510.3	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 Sherman County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,701.8	9,842.6	-22%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	80.2	75.3	+7%	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	120.2	96.9	+24%	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.

Formaldehyde19.21 per million
Naphthalene3.78 per million
Acetaldehyde2.9 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit15
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Rail grade crossing8
Wind power plant7
Brownfield property3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Solar power plant1
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.

Gtn Pipeline Compressor Station 10, Kent
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007169893 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Biggs Service District Ww Treatment, Biggs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039702612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Rufus Industrial Park, Rufus
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018494789 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Rufus Community Center, Rufus
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071966805 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Biggs Station & Motel Property, Biggs Junction
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983077 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
John Day Dam Project, Rufus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071222413 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
John Day Dam Usace, Wasco
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000816733 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Wasco State, Wasco
Public airport. O.
Record ID 35S (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
City of Moro
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1186155604 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Rufus Stp, Wasco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039734721 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Scott Canyon Road Improvement Project, Rufus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069608687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Us Travel Center, Rufus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070231522 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Evergreen State Holdings, Grass Valley
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070595479 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Golden Hills Wind Project, Wasco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071093978 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Golden Hills Wind Project-Substation And Transmission Line, Wasco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071094838 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Golden Hills Wind Farm, Wasco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071096977 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sherman County Fairgrounds, Moro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071401825 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wasco Grain Storage Facility, Wasco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071404560 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
City Of Moro Wastewater System Improvements, Moro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071659117 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Azure Standard Warehouse, Moro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071660353 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Klondike Ii, Wasco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071660879 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cottonwood Canyon State Park Access Road Improvements, Wasco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071661363 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Biglow Solar & Bess, Wasco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072246336 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Central Transport Spill Site: Travel Centers Of America, Wasco
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID x0da3c3226ba7fb4bfcaf8e8aba4ff588 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Private, Rufus
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 807650N (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3

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 Sherman 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 Sherman 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 Sherman County View on the heat map All Oregon counties