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Cochran County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cochran County is 160.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 18 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (7), Rail grade crossing (4), Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility) (2). 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: 33.6166, -102.8287.

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 Cochran County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	160.3	143.2	1.12x	103.3 to 239	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	463.7	453.4	1.02x	359.7 to 589.2	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 Cochran County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,047	9,842.6	+43%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.4	75.3	-5%	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	124.7	96.9	+29%	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.

Formaldehyde13.2 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.61 per million
Benzene0.96 per million
Acetaldehyde0.83 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit7
Rail grade crossing4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1
Gas station (mapped facility)1
Wind 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.

Slaughter Pump Station, Whiteface
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007207502 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Cochran County, Morton
Public airport. O.
Record ID F85 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Coleman, Morton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030995500 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Central Compress Morton, Morton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034399201 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Steve Thomas, Morton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037518932 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Frontier Meat, Morton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037845188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rei Cattle, Morton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071066442 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hh Creek Ranch Feeders, Morton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071905660 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lbb Csj 0461-04-026, Morton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071954094 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Targa Midstream Services Limited Par, Morton
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110007195427 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
County Road 257, Whiteface
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 017653C (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
Fm1780 / Taylor Street, Whiteface
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 017654J (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
Filmore Street, Whiteface
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 017655R (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
Cemetery Road, Whiteface
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 017656X (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
Jay's Garage
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/4787141272 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
West Ward, Morton
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/4787141276 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Alon
Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/755041633 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Wildcat Ranch Wind Project, Morton
Wind power plant.
Record ID 61674 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 0.7

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 Cochran 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 Cochran 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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