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Bell County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Bell County is 152.6 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 1.2 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.1 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,261 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (749), Gas station (mapped facility) (144), Rail grade crossing (124). 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: 31.0504, -97.5141.

How this county ranks in Texas

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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 Bell County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	28.7	17.9	1.6xSignificant	26.2 to 31.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.9	8.7	1.37xSignificant	10.3 to 13.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	67.1	51.8	1.3xSignificant	63.2 to 71.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.5	4.4	1.25x	4.4 to 6.7	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	8.2	6.6	1.24xSignificant	6.9 to 9.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.1	6.6	1.23xSignificant	6.8 to 9.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	34.7	30.2	1.15xSignificant	31.9 to 37.6	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.5	5.7	1.14x	5.4 to 7.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15.7	13.9	1.13x	13.8 to 17.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.4	4.8	1.13x	4.3 to 6.6	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	3	2.7	1.11x	2.2 to 3.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.7	3.4	1.09x	2.9 to 4.7	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	487.4	453.4	1.07xSignificant	477 to 498	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.5	14.5	1.07x	13.7 to 17.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	152.6	143.2	1.07xSignificant	146.8 to 158.6	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.5	6.2	1.05x	5.3 to 7.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.8	11.3	1.04x	10.2 to 13.5	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	13.5	13	1.04x	11.8 to 15.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.2	18.5	0.98x	16.2 to 20.3	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	3.7	4.1	0.9x	2.8 to 4.7	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	16.2	18.7	0.87x	14.4 to 18.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.7	2	0.85x	1.2 to 2.5	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	13.8	16.4	0.84x	10.5 to 17.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	3.4	4.6	0.74x	2.6 to 4.4	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	2.5	3.7	0.68x	1.8 to 3.3	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	15.6	23.8	0.66x	13.7 to 17.6	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 Bell County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,432.8	9,842.6	-4%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.5	75.3	+0%	years
Child mortality	68.2	59.8	+14%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.5	6.2	+5%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	70.6	96.9	-27%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	15.3	28.6	-47%	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.

Formaldehyde20.48 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.85 per million
Acetaldehyde1.5 per million
Naphthalene0.8 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 241 good, 4 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 45, peak 140.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,261 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit749
Gas station (mapped facility)144
Rail grade crossing124
Air permit holder (minor source)38
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)34
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)28
TRI reporting facility27
Small hazardous waste generator26
Major air pollution source17
Hazardous waste transporter11
Scrapyard (mapped facility)11
Large hazardous waste generator10
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)9
Public airport8
Brownfield property5
Heliport5
Commercial airport3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
EPA air quality monitor2
Gas power plant2
Landfill (mapped facility)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.

Rockwool Industries Inc., Bell County
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 48. NPL Site.
EPA site ID TXD066379645 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Us Army Fort Cavazos Range Facility, Fort Cavazos
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead, Dinitrotoluene (mixed isomers), Phosphorus (yellow or white) and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,268,520 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76548SRMYFBLDG4 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.2
Fiber Glass Systems Lp, Belton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 445,657 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76513BLCMN2303E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Wilsonart Llc Temple North, Temple
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formaldehyde, Phenol, Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 242,826 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76503RLPHW10501 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Engineered Composite Systems, Belton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 205,373 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7651WNGNRD221TA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Viron International Llc, Temple
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate. Reports carcinogens. 47,635 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76504VRNNT3100L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
The Pittsburgh Paints Co., Temple
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Cyclohexane, Ethylbenzene, Ethylene glycol and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 45,000 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76503THGLD3410L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Killeen Marble Inc, Killeen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 31,495 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76543KLLNM450FR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Tts Distribution Inc, Temple
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Methanol, Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Hexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 9,329 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76502TMTXS4208S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
American Spincast Inc, Belton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 7,500 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76513MRCNS2505T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Centrifugal Castings, Temple
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Nickel compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,326 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76504CNTRF3320P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Er Carpenter Lp, Temple
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene diisocyanate (mixed isomers), Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 1,650 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76501RCRPN2611N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Us Army Fort Hood Range Facility, Fort Hood
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042005264 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Delta Centrifugal Llc, Temple
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Copper And Copper Compounds, Cobalt And Cobalt Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 544 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76501DLTCN3402C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Wilsonart Llc-Adhesive Div, Temple
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, n-Hexane, Cyclohexane, Xylene (mixed isomers). 21,687 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76502RLPHW10601 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
National Oilwell Varco, Belton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000460377 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Texas Hydraulics, Temple
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000460313 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Artco Bell Corp, Temple
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 179 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76504RTCBL1302I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Palladio Industries Inc., Temple
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acrylonitrile, Acrylic acid, Acrylamide. Reports carcinogens. 170 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7650WPLLDN2114T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Ecs Plant, Belton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042002454 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Temple North, Temple
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000460297 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Wilsonart Solid Surface, Temple
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl methacrylate. 11,800 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7650WWLSNR211BA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Mgc Pure Chemicals America Inc, Killeen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 7,423 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7654WMGCPR45RYJ (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Fiberglass Spray Facility, Temple
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000460340 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Macco Adhesives Glidden, Temple
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000460304 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8

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 Bell County

Texas 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 Bell County, and their findings.
Texas vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Texas health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Texas 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.
Texas 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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