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Wheeler County, Oregon: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Wheeler County is 129.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 8 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Public airport (3), Gas station (mapped facility) (2), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (2). 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: 44.7071, -120.0196.

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 Wheeler County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	416.7	453.4	0.92x	304.7 to 571.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	129.8	143.2	0.91x	84.6 to 217.6	2020-2024

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 Wheeler County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	4,379.8	9,842.6	-56%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	n/a	75.3	n/a	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	n/a	96.9	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde16.37 per million
Naphthalene2.77 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.71 per million
Acetaldehyde2.52 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Public airport3
Gas station (mapped facility)2
NPDES wastewater discharge permit2
Brownfield property1

Highest-severity records

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

Fossil Industrial Park, Fossil
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967056 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Odot - Spray Maintenance Facility, Spray
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069591203 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Priest Hole Campground, Twickenham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071996839 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lone Elk Market
Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/3715971693 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Fuel Station, Fossil
Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/9750717950 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Collins Landing Strip, Mitchell
Public airport. O.
Record ID 04OR (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 0.5
Antone Ranch, Mitchell
Public airport. O.
Record ID 64OG (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 0.5
Kinzua, Kinzua
Public airport. O.
Record ID OR89 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 0.5

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 Wheeler 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 Wheeler 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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