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Cameron County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cameron County is 126.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate and Stomach deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,247 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (656), Rail grade crossing (278), Gas station (mapped facility) (91). 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: 26.124, -97.5864.

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 Cameron County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	Deaths	0.9	0.5	1.8x	0.5 to 1.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.7	3.4	1.68xSignificant	4.8 to 6.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	14.5	8.7	1.67xSignificant	13 to 16.2	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	4.4	2.7	1.63xSignificant	3.5 to 5.4	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	10.3	6.6	1.56xSignificant	9 to 11.7	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	10.2	6.6	1.55xSignificant	8.9 to 11.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25.5	17.9	1.42xSignificant	23.4 to 27.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5	4.8	1.04x	4.1 to 6	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	13	13	1x	11.4 to 14.7	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	15.9	16.4	0.97x	12.6 to 19.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.9	14.5	0.96x	12.4 to 15.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.1	5.7	0.89x	4.2 to 6.1	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	126.1	143.2	0.88x	121.5 to 130.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	392.4	453.4	0.87x	384.1 to 400.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.7	18.5	0.85x	14 to 17.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.5	11.3	0.84x	8.2 to 10.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	11.6	13.9	0.83x	10.2 to 13.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	4.5	6.2	0.73x	3.6 to 5.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	12.2	18.7	0.65x	10.8 to 13.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	3	4.6	0.65x	2.4 to 3.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	2.7	4.4	0.61x	2.1 to 3.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	17.2	30.2	0.57x	15.5 to 19	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	2.1	3.7	0.57x	1.6 to 2.8	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	2.2	4.1	0.54x	1.6 to 2.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	27.3	51.8	0.53x	25.2 to 29.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	0.7	2	0.35x	0.4 to 1.2	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	7.5	23.8	0.32x	6.4 to 8.7	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 Cameron County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,064.8	9,842.6	-8%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.3	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	45.4	59.8	-24%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.5	6.2	-12%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	36.9	96.9	-62%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	6.1	28.6	-79%	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.

Formaldehyde16.71 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.86 per million
Acetaldehyde0.99 per million
Benzene0.67 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 109 good, 8 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 57, peak 139.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,247 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit656
Rail grade crossing278
Gas station (mapped facility)91
Small hazardous waste generator44
Hazardous waste transporter35
Air permit holder (minor source)27
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)20
TRI reporting facility18
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)16
Major air pollution source14
Large hazardous waste generator9
Brownfield property8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
Heliport6
Public airport5
Wind power plant4
EPA air quality monitor3
Commercial airport3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Gas 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.

Chem Pruf, Brownsville
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $61,181.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008060757 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.9
Isla Blanca State Park Road, South Padre Island
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 480612004 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 8.7
Seatrium Amfels Inc., Brownsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, Ethylbenzene, m-Xylene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 161,278 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78520KPPLM2HWY4 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Trico Products Corp, Brownsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sodium nitrite, Chlorine, Nickel, Manganese and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 75,627 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78521TRCTC1995B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Chem Pruf Door, Brownsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 65,861 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78526CHMPR5224F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Titan Fuel Terminals Harlingen Gasoline Terminal, Harlingen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Cumene, Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 23,318 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7855WTTNFLINTER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Bluewing One Llc, Brownsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Cyclohexane, Ethylbenzene, Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 18,500 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7852WBLWNG117ST (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Port Isabel Detention Ctr Wwtf, Los Fresnos
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 17,000 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7856WPRTSB27991 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Chem Pruf, Brownsville
Major air pollution source. Penalties $61,181.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008060757 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Mueller Co Gas Prods Div, Brownsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005176709 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Bluewing Royal Llc., Brownsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 4,500 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7825WRTWTR15ANC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Chem Pruf, Brownsville
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $61,181.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008060757 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Saint-Gobain Abrasives Inc, Brownsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Phenol. 139,853 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78521NRTNC1505M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Titan Fuel Terminals Harlingen Llc, Harlingen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Cumene, Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,452 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7855WTTNFL24581 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Brownsville East 6th Street, Brownsville
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 480611098 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 6.3
Mueller Co. - Gas Products Div, Brownsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 154 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78526MLLRC3351F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Saint-Gobain Abrasives Inc, Brownsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000465167 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Olmito Wsc Wwtp, Olmito
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009773272 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Valley Regional Medical Center, Brownsville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069285801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Karpower Valley Inc, Brownsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018858324 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Titan Fuel Terminals Harlingen Gasoline Terminal, Harlingen
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071722333 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
National Electric Coil Co Lp, Brownsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 44 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78521NTNLL3330E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Bluewing One, Llc, Brownsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070942404 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Rancho Viejo Wwtf, Rancho Viejo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,625.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021030490 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
City Of Harlingen Waterworks System Wwtp, Harlingen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $19,050.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039693524 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5

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 Cameron 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 Cameron 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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