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Ellis County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ellis County is 161.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 1.9 times the U.S. rate and Bladder deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,305 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (838), Rail grade crossing (143), Gas station (mapped facility) (78). 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: 32.2992, -96.7646.

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 Ellis County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	6.3	3.4	1.85xSignificant	4.8 to 8.1	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	6.1	4.1	1.49xSignificant	4.6 to 8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	26	17.9	1.45xSignificant	22.9 to 29.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	19	14.5	1.31xSignificant	16.3 to 21.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.4	11.3	1.19x	11.2 to 15.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.6	4.8	1.17x	4.2 to 7.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.5	5.7	1.14x	4.9 to 8.3	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15.7	13.9	1.13x	13.3 to 18.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	161.5	143.2	1.13xSignificant	153.6 to 169.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.7	8.7	1.11x	8 to 11.8	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	3	2.7	1.11x	2 to 4.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	32.1	30.2	1.06x	28.7 to 35.8	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.6	18.5	1.06x	16.9 to 22.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.1	2	1.05x	1.3 to 3.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.5	6.2	1.05x	5 to 8.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.6	18.7	1.05x	16.9 to 22.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.8	6.6	1.03x	5.3 to 8.5	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	466.5	453.4	1.03x	453.2 to 480	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	53	51.8	1.02x	48.6 to 57.8	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.4	4.4	1x	3.2 to 5.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.4	4.6	0.96x	3.2 to 5.8	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.5	3.7	0.95x	2.5 to 4.8	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	6.1	6.6	0.92x	4.6 to 7.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.7	13	0.9x	9.7 to 14.1	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	14.3	16.4	0.87x	9.7 to 20.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	14.8	23.8	0.62x	12.5 to 17.4	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 Ellis County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,453	9,842.6	-24%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.8	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	50.2	59.8	-16%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.6	6.2	-10%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	56.8	96.9	-41%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	10.7	28.6	-63%	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.

Formaldehyde21.11 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde1.67 per million
Ethylene Oxide1.24 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 362 days: 323 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 35, peak 93.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,305 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit838
Rail grade crossing143
Gas station (mapped facility)78
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)44
TRI reporting facility37
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)28
Major air pollution source24
Small hazardous waste generator23
Large hazardous waste generator19
Air permit holder (minor source)18
Public airport14
Hazardous waste transporter12
Large greenhouse gas emitter11
Heliport4
Gas power plant2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Airfield1
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Landfill (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.

Gerdau Midlothian Plant, Midlothian
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $189,866.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000459183 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.9
Martin Marietta North Texas Cement Llc, Midlothian
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,060,423 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76065TXSND245WA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Holcim (Us) Inc., Midlothian
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen cyanide, Hydrogen sulfide, Benzene, Acetaldehyde and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,057,631 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76065HLNMT1600D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Polynt Composites Usa Inc. - Ennis, Ennis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Styrene, Dicyclopentadiene, Maleic anhydride and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. Reports PFAS. 7,905 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75120CRGLLPOBOX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
The Praxis Cos Llc, Ennis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate. Reports carcinogens. 591,817 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75119KRLND1504S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Waxahachie Plant, Waxahachie
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $45,275.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000457087 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.9
Holcim Texas, Midlothian
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $111,267.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001867114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.7
Owens Corning Insulating Systems Llc - Waxahachie, Waxahachie
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Formaldehyde, Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 234,067 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75165WNSCRHWY35 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Ash Grove Texas Lp, Midlothian
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $91,862.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000459192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.4
Martech, Midlothian
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 97,345 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7606WMRTCH165NH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Chaparral Steel Midlothian Lp, Midlothian
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 58,738 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76065CHPRR300WA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Buckley Oil Co - Midlothian Site, Midlothian
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, n-Hexane, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 50,860 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7606WBCKLY29KEM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Ennis-Flint North, Ennis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), 4,4'-Isopropylidenediphenol and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 24,861 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75119NNSPN2800O (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Genesis Custom Chemical Blending, Ennis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ethylene glycol, Nonylphenol Ethoxylates, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 15,498 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7511WGNSSC278NE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Hexion Specialty Chemicals - Ennis Plant, Ennis
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022532918 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.7
Tamko Building Products Llc, Ennis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 14,522 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75119MNVLL2705N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Polyguard Products, Ennis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 13,519 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75119PLYGR3801H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Martin Marietta Midlothian Facility, Midlothian
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000459209 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.7
Sherwin-Williams Co, Ennis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Certain glycol ethers, Cyclohexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 10,208 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75119NTDCT301PL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Elk Co Of Texas Llc, Ennis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Methanol, Zinc compounds, Polycyclic aromatic compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 8,768 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75119LKCRP202CE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Gerdau Midlothian Plant, Midlothian
Major air pollution source. Penalties $189,866.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000459183 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Dartco Of Texas Waxahachie Site, Waxahachie
Major air pollution source. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001867132 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Ennis Facility, Ennis
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $3,250.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000456783 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
United States Aluminum, Waxahachie
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009258212 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Ash Grove Cement Co, Midlothian
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Ammonia, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Zinc compounds and 4 more. 170,398 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76065GFFRDPOBOX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 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 Ellis 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 Ellis 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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