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Comal County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Comal County is 138.9 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 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 958 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (687), Rail grade crossing (93), Gas station (mapped facility) (53). 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: 29.8184, -98.2884.

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 Comal County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.1	3.4	1.5xSignificant	3.9 to 6.6	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.3	4.4	1.2x	4 to 6.8	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.6	4.8	1.17x	4.3 to 7.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.6	5.7	1.16x	5.2 to 8.4	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.1	6.6	1.08x	5.6 to 8.9	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.3	4.1	1.05x	3.2 to 5.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.4	17.9	1.03x	15.9 to 21.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.9	8.7	1.02x	7.3 to 10.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.7	18.5	1.01x	16.1 to 21.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.6	14.5	1.01x	12.4 to 17.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	138.9	143.2	0.97x	132 to 146	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	13.2	13.9	0.95x	11.1 to 15.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.5	18.7	0.94x	15.1 to 20.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	22.2	23.8	0.93x	19.4 to 25.3	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.5	2.7	0.93x	1.7 to 3.7	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	418	453.4	0.92x	405.8 to 430.4	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.7	6.2	0.92x	4.4 to 7.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	27.4	30.2	0.91x	24.4 to 30.6	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.9	6.6	0.89x	4.5 to 7.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10	11.3	0.88x	8.3 to 12	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	11.3	13	0.87x	9.2 to 13.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.1	3.7	0.84x	2.2 to 4.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	40.9	51.8	0.79x	37.3 to 44.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.5	2	0.75x	0.9 to 2.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	3.4	4.6	0.74x	2.5 to 4.7	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 Comal County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,848.5	9,842.6	-30%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.3	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	48.8	59.8	-18%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.8	6.2	-23%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	60.6	96.9	-38%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	9.9	28.6	-65%	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.

Formaldehyde19.95 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.82 per million
Acetaldehyde1.33 per million
Naphthalene1.01 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit687
Rail grade crossing93
Gas station (mapped facility)53
Air permit holder (minor source)20
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)20
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)16
Small hazardous waste generator14
TRI reporting facility12
Public airport8
Major air pollution source7
Hazardous waste transporter7
Heliport5
Large hazardous waste generator4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Airfield1
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Biomass power plant1
Hydroelectric plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)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.

Leisure Pools & Spas Manufacturing N.A. Inc., New Braunfels
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 395,446 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7813WLSRPL3567I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Cemex Construction Materials South Llc - Balcones Plant, New Braunfels
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Mercury And Mercury Compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Mercury compounds and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 98,256 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78131LFRGCSOLMS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Lonestar Fiberglass New Braunfels, New Braunfels
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 67,570 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7813WLNSTR715I3 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Lhoist North America - Plant, New Braunfels
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Vanadium compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Lead compounds and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 50,994 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78132CHMCL350AP (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Ash Grove - Hunter Cement Plant, New Braunfels
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000874572 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Ash Grove Cement South Texas Llc, New Braunfels
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 4 more. 317,939 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78132TXPRT7781F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Cemex Construction Materials South, Llc, New Braunfels
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $19,633.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000464550 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Central Texas Iron Works - Schertz, Schertz
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 220 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78154MNTCH9893D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Leisure Pools Usa Trading, New Braunfels
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037957636 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
New Braunfels Lime Plant, New Braunfels
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001866712 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Lonestar Fiberglass New Braunfels, New Braunfels
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070888204 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Ufp Schertz Llc, Schertz
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper And Copper Compounds, Copper compounds, Sodium nitrite. 1,589 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78154WDTCH21700 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Ash Grove - Hunter Cement Plant, New Braunfels
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000874572 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
New Braunfels Plant, New Braunfels
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 6 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7813WNWBRN2682W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Ufp Schertz, Schertz
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002134501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Visionworks Lab Services Inc, Schertz
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 3 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7815WVSNWR661GU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5
North Kuehler Wwtp, New Braunfels
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $18,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064591482 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Lonestar Fiberglass New Braunfels, New Braunfels
Major air pollution source. Penalties $135,450.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071174868 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Asphalt Inc. Garden Ridge, New Braunfels
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 3 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7813WSPHLT29649 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Asphalt Inc Hanson Garden Ridge Plant, New Braunfels
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 2 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7813WRTHTM21946 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Ash Grove - Hunter Cement Plant, New Braunfels
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000874572 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Central Texas Iron Works Schertz, Schertz
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000464578 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Schertz Readymix Concrete, New Braunfels
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 7813WSCHRT19347 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Cemex Construction Materials South, Llc, New Braunfels
Major air pollution source. Penalties $19,633.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000464550 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Leisure Pools And Spas Manufacturing North America, New Braunfels
Major air pollution source. Penalties $18,087.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034466708 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5

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 Comal 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 Comal 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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