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Hale County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Hale County is 137.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 239 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (123), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (56), Gas station (mapped facility) (21). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 34.0955, -101.8265.

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 Hale County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	11.9	6.6	1.8xSignificant	7.3 to 18.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	30.3	17.9	1.69xSignificant	22.5 to 40	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	14.2	8.7	1.63xSignificant	9.3 to 21	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12	11.3	1.06x	7.5 to 18.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	137.1	143.2	0.96x	120.1 to 155.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	13.3	14.5	0.92x	8.3 to 20.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	25.4	30.2	0.84x	18.4 to 34.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	374.8	453.4	0.83x	346.5 to 404.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15	18.7	0.8x	9.7 to 22.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	9.6	13.9	0.69x	5.7 to 15.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	34.1	51.8	0.66x	26.2 to 43.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	15.5	23.8	0.65x	10.2 to 22.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	10.8	18.5	0.58x	6.4 to 17	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 Hale County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,327	9,842.6	+15%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.6	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	64.4	59.8	+8%	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	68.9	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.

Formaldehyde13.68 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.65 per million
Acetaldehyde0.96 per million
Benzene0.79 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing123
NPDES wastewater discharge permit56
Gas station (mapped facility)21
Major air pollution source7
Air permit holder (minor source)5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Public airport4
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Gas power plant2
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Landfill (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.

Plainview Bioenergy Llc, Plainview
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, Ammonia, n-Hexane, Formic acid and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 109,839 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7907WPLNVW2698E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Anton Co2 Recovery Facility - Oxy Usa Inc. (Permian Div, Abernathy
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Benzene, Cyclohexane, Methanol. Reports carcinogens. 2,624 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7931WNTNCRCR33X (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Plainview Bioenergy, Llc, Plainview
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033218104 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Martin Operating Ptnr-Plainview, Plainview
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 19,100 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79072MRTNRHWY19 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Martin Operating Partnership, Lp, Plainview
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000722638 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Anton Irish Co2 Re-Injection Facility, Abernathy
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062232052 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Plainview Corn Milling Plant, Plainview
Major air pollution source. Penalties $33,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007180610 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Elk Station, Abernathy
Gas power plant.
Record ID 58835 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.6
Cargill Meat Solutions Plainview, Plainview
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028252931 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
City Of Lubbock West Texas Regional Disposal Fac, Abernathy
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030492090 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Aiken Cottonseed Delinting Facility, Plainview
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031505084 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Plainview Compressor Station, Plainview
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034224284 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
City Of Plainview Landfill, Plainview
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034503874 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Us Fiberglass, Plainview
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035365333 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Antelope Station, Abernathy
Gas power plant.
Record ID 57865 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.2
Plainview City Of Potw, Plainview
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009779819 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
City Of Lubbock West Texas Regional Disposal Fac, Abernathy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030492090 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cargill Meat Solutions Plainview, Plainview
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028252931 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Azteca Milling - Plainview, Plainview
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070502574 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Plainview Bioenergy, Llc, Plainview
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033218104 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Hale County, Plainview
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID PVW (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Vick's Cleaners, Plainview
Dry cleaner (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/678787046 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/765415942 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Plainview Bioenergy, Llc, Plainview
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110033218104 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Abernathy, Abernathy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000600038 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Hale County Sheriff Office & Jail, Plainview
EPA FRS registry ID
110072103140
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Hale 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 Hale 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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