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Brewster County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Brewster County is 106.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 105 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (46), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (21), Gas station (mapped facility) (15). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 10 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: 29.8158, -103.0838.

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 Brewster County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	342.1	453.4	0.75x	297.4 to 392.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	106.9	143.2	0.75x	84.1 to 135	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	22.2	30.2	0.74x	13 to 36.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	28.9	51.8	0.56x	17.7 to 45.7	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 Brewster County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,717.9	9,842.6	-11%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.7	75.3	+6%	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	94.6	96.9	-2%	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: 10 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde10.86 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.51 per million
Benzene0.47 per million
Acetaldehyde0.42 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 364 days: 272 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 43, peak 164.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing46
NPDES wastewater discharge permit21
Gas station (mapped facility)15
Public airport13
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Heliport2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Solar power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

City Of Alpine Municipal Wwtf, Alpine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,525.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013684986 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Big Bend NP
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 480430101 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3.4
Chisos Basin Wwtp, Big Bend National Park
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,562.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006885558 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Terlingua Ranch, Alpine
Public airport. O.
Record ID 1E2 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Alpine-Casparis Muni, Alpine
Public airport. O.
Record ID E38 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Lajitas Intl, Lajitas
Public airport. O.
Record ID T89 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/334906308 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Alpine Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/425624860 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Highland Concrete Alpine Operation, Alpine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012684960 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lajitas Wwtp, Lajitas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014331543 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Terlingua Wtp, Terlingua
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064596236 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Big Bend Coca-Cola Bottling, Alpine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070166081 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Duncan Disposal Alpine Hauling Facility, Alpine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070355607 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lajitas International Airport, Lajitas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070359112 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Alpine Plant, Alpine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070372416 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Stubbs Quarry, Alpine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070376285 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ups - Alpine, Alpine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070528018 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Srsu Campus Access Project, Alpine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070917453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Alpine Plant, Alpine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071155767 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Alpine Wastewater Treatment Plant, Alpine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071155922 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Alpine Casparis Municipal Airport, Alpine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071157683 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wendell Mine Site, Terlingua
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071345526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Turnbow Minesite, Terlingua
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071346219 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ecology Minerals, Alpine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071347476 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cbp No 2 Lajitas, Lajitas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071445446 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Brewster 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 Brewster 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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