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Gonzales County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Gonzales County is 158.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 160 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (83), Rail grade crossing (39), Gas station (mapped facility) (13). 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: 29.4507, -97.5014.

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 Gonzales County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	26	17.9	1.45x	17.4 to 37.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	19.1	13.9	1.37x	12.2 to 28.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	18.8	14.5	1.3x	11.6 to 29	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	35	30.2	1.16x	25.5 to 47.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	158.4	143.2	1.11x	137.2 to 182.1	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.2	11.3	1.08x	6.8 to 20.4	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	458.5	453.4	1.01x	420.2 to 499.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	52.3	51.8	1.01x	40.3 to 67	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	20	23.8	0.84x	12.6 to 30.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.8	18.5	0.8x	8.7 to 23.7	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 Gonzales County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,411.8	9,842.6	+6%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.2	75.3	-1%	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	84.2	96.9	-13%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	18.2	28.6	-36%	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.

Formaldehyde20.11 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde1.38 per million
Benzene0.89 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit83
Rail grade crossing39
Gas station (mapped facility)13
Major air pollution source5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
TRI reporting facility4
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Public airport3
Hydroelectric plant3
Heliport1
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.

Eog Resources Inc. T. R. Marshall Hub, Gonzales
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Methanol, Benzene, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 45,605 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7795WGRSRC7MILE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Eog Resources Inc Shiner Hub, Gonzales
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Benzene, Methanol, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 41,080 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7862WSHNRH418FM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Eog Resources Inc Smiley Hub, Smiley
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Methanol, Benzene, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 35,045 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7815WSMLYH1396C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Shiner Hub, Gonzales
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055951082 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Smiley Hub, Smiley
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056871327 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
City Of Waelder Wwtp, Waelder
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $16,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012293794 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Cyclone Cdp, Wrightsboro
Major air pollution source. Penalties $17,938.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070520768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Tyson Farms Inc Gonzales Feed Mill, Gonzales
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000465309 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Land O'Lakes Purina Feed Llc - Gonzales, Gonzales
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000465318 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
City Of Gonzales Wwtp, Gonzales
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039914527 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ullman A 1 Facility, Gonzales
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041897105 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Edwards Production Facility, Smiley
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067572772 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Barnhart Central Facility, Westhoff
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070181145 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Hawkeye Cdp, Gonzales
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071241198 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
City Of Smiley Wwtp, Smiley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009746490 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
City Of Nixon-Plant - 3rd / Spring, Nixon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009778213 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Tyson Farms Inc Gonzales Feed Mill, Gonzales
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 78629HLLYFINDUS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Purina Animal Nutrition Llc - Gonzales, Gonzales
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 78629PRNML1402E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
794 Well, Harwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071445691 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Harrier Holdings, Waelder
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072131176 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Ingram Readymix Gonzales, Gonzales
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042394520 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
304 Well, Gonzales
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071446861 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Bebe Well, Bebe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071447462 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Roger M Dreyer Meml, Gonzales
Public airport. O.
Record ID T20 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1413379368 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2

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 Gonzales 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 Gonzales 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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