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Colorado County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Colorado County is 168.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 246 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (94), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (91), Gas station (mapped facility) (27). 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: 29.6045, -96.5236.

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 Colorado County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	31.4	17.9	1.75xSignificant	22.4 to 42.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	15.2	8.7	1.75xSignificant	9.5 to 23.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	16.2	11.3	1.43x	10.5 to 24.3	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.4	13.9	1.18x	10.6 to 24.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	168.5	143.2	1.18xSignificant	148.3 to 191	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	469.1	453.4	1.03x	433.6 to 507	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.7	30.2	0.95x	21.2 to 38.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	46.8	51.8	0.9x	36.7 to 59.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21	23.8	0.88x	13.6 to 31.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.8	18.7	0.79x	9.7 to 22.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	12.3	18.5	0.66x	7.5 to 19.5	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 Colorado County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,858.8	9,842.6	+20%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	96.8	59.8	+62%	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	99.3	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: 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.

Formaldehyde20.08 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde1.59 per million
Ethylene Oxide0.84 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing94
NPDES wastewater discharge permit91
Gas station (mapped facility)27
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
TRI reporting facility5
Public airport4
Hazardous waste transporter4
Major air pollution source3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Heliport2
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
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.

Houston Central Gas Plant, Sheridan
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Benzene, Cyclohexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 41,354 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7747WCPNNR1651C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Copano Energy Houston Central Plant, Tx, Sheridan
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071162161 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Altair Recycling Facility, Altair
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $181,012,404.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067678622 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Quikrete - Sand Express Plant, Columbus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Mercury. Reports carcinogens. 8 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7893WQKRTS183KL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Quikrete Eagle Lake, Eagle Lake
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77434GLCRD5559H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.7
Copano Processing Houston Central Gas Plt, Sheridan
Major air pollution source. Penalties $25,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015744532 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Utex Industries Inc, Weimar
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Copper. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 78962TXNDS605UT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Quikrete - Sand Express Plant, Columbus
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071433648 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.2
Headwaters Construction Materials Llc - Eagle Lake, Eagle Lake
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022448243 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.1
Great Southern Wood Of Texas, Columbus
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012702726 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hcm Block & Brick L.P., Alleyton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022810430 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Titan Production Equipment Llc, Alleyton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds. 13 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78935SMTHN100FM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.9
Garwood Facilities, Garwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $16,114.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009781566 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Utex Industries Weimar Plant, Weimar
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000465648 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Sky Global Power One, Rock Island
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067575840 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Weimar Wwtp, Weimar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006800364 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Sky Global Power One, Rock Island
Gas power plant.
Record ID 59938 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Best Block Alleyton Plant, Alleyton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds.
TRI facility ID 78935HCMBL288FM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Utex Industries Weimar Plant, Weimar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000465648 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Great Southern Wood - Columbus Inc., Columbus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Copper And Copper Compounds.
TRI facility ID 78934GRTST1050G (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Sheridan Wwtp, Sheridan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009774501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
City Of Eagle Lake Wwtp, Eagle Lake
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009777839 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Altair Tx Tait Ranch, Altair
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $14,875.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070365652 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Copano Energy Houston Central Plant, Tx, Sheridan
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071162161 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Columbus Sand & Gravel, Alleyton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,063.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071709238 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5

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 Colorado 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 Colorado 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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