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Castro County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Castro County is 129.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 111 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (68), Rail grade crossing (29), Air permit holder (minor source) (6). 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: 34.5305, -102.2618.

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 Castro County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	129.4	143.2	0.9x	96.6 to 170.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	400.6	453.4	0.88x	339.8 to 469.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	39.6	51.8	0.76x	23.1 to 63.8	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 Castro County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,360.2	9,842.6	+5%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.4	75.3	+0%	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	80.5	96.9	-17%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde13.02 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.61 per million
Acetaldehyde0.91 per million
Benzene0.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit68
Rail grade crossing29
Air permit holder (minor source)6
Gas station (mapped facility)2
Wind power plant2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Dimmitt Sulfur Products Ltd, Dimmitt
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 30,250 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79027GDPSTSEHWY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Dimmitt, Tx, Dimmitt
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067263883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Cargill Inc, Dimmitt
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000465684 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Dimmitt Muni, Dimmitt
Public airport. O.
Record ID T55 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Rafter 3 Feedyard, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020144324 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hyman Farms, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020144690 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dimmitt Feed Yard, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020146117 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rogers And Sons, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020146313 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kenneth Christie Feedlot, Hereford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020146340 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
White River Ranch, Hart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020146545 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Jd Myrick Feedyard, Hart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020147143 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Circle Three Feedyard, Hereford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020547684 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cbj 2, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020548022 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bar G Feedyard, Summerfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020548031 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
R & P Feedyard, Hereford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020571889 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dwayne Smith Feedyard, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020846904 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sparkman Cattle Feeders West, Hereford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022280244 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Black Dairy, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022280306 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Oppliger Feedyard Sunnyside, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022570476 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Quint Waggoner Feedyard, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024411992 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sandhill Cattle, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024412232 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Heartland Livestock, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024412312 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Edgar Dennis, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027364821 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pat Betzen, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027989522 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
E & M Dairy, Dimmitt
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027989559 (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 Castro 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 Castro 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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