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Union County, Oregon: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Union County is 154.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 185 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (94), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (38), Brownfield property (16). 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: 45.3965, -118.0461.

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 Union County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	19.8	13	1.52x	12.5 to 29.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	15.5	11.3	1.37x	10.3 to 22.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	154.2	143.2	1.08x	136.6 to 173.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.9	18.5	1.02x	12.8 to 27.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.6	14.5	1.01x	9 to 22.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.3	13.9	0.96x	8.4 to 20.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.4	18.7	0.88x	11.3 to 23.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	369.1	453.4	0.81x	340.3 to 399.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	23	30.2	0.76x	16.9 to 31	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	16.3	23.8	0.68x	10.7 to 24.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	12.1	17.9	0.68x	7.5 to 18.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	33.5	51.8	0.65x	25.9 to 42.9	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 Union County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,096.9	9,842.6	-8%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.5	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	56.8	59.8	-5%	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	87	96.9	-10%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	32.9	28.6	+15%	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.

Formaldehyde14.18 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.7 per million
Acetaldehyde1.93 per million
Naphthalene1.41 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 353 days: 298 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 27, peak 79.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing94
NPDES wastewater discharge permit38
Brownfield property16
Gas station (mapped facility)13
Public airport4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Major air pollution source2
EPA air quality monitor2
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Hazardous waste transporter2
TRI reporting facility2
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Wind power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
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.

Kronospan La Grande Llc, La Grande
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 260,345 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97850SLNDCHWY82 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Hexion Inc., Island City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formaldehyde, Phenol, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 51,341 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97850BRDNNHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Island City Particleboard Plant, La Grande
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000488909 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.9
Boise Cascade Wood Products Llc Elgin Complex, Elgin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese And Manganese Compounds. 21,713 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 97827LGNCM90SOU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Hexion La Grande Site, La Grande
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014206590 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Island City Particleboard Plant, La Grande
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000488909 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
North Powder Stp, North Powder
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $16,769.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009817519 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Union Wwtp, Union
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,100.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039738941 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Boise Cascade - Elgin Complex, Elgin
Major air pollution source. Penalties $9,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000816895 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Island City Particleboard Plant, La Grande
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000488909 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Boise Cascade - Elgin Complex, Elgin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000816895 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
La Grande Wwtp, La Grande
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014195682 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Union Forest Products Site, Union
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014300238 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Liberty Theater, La Grande
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043455873 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Odd Fellows / State Theater, La Grande
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043455882 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Union Bus Barn (Former), Union
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965576 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Elgin Industrial Park, Elgin
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967059 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
La Grande Technology Park, La Grande
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967142 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Oregon Log & Chip Fiber Mill - Parcel 2, Elgin
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967185 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Airport Hanger - Union County Airport, La Grande
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071969679 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Eastern Oregon Fire Museum, La Grande
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970168 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Brickyards Lane, La Grande
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971873 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bonenkamp Building, La Grande
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974520 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Mountain West Moving, La Grande
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974630 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Napa Building, La Grande
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974632 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
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 Union 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 Union 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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