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Hockley County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Hockley County is 179.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 156 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (52), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (39), Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility) (17). 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: 33.6197, -102.3433.

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 Hockley County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	179.9	143.2	1.26xSignificant	156.8 to 205.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	35.7	30.2	1.18x	26 to 48	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	27.4	23.8	1.15x	18.6 to 39	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.9	13.9	1.14x	9.4 to 25.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.2	17.9	1.02x	11.2 to 28	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	456.1	453.4	1.01x	418.2 to 496.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.2	14.5	0.98x	8.4 to 22.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.9	18.7	0.85x	9.6 to 24.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.1	18.5	0.82x	9.1 to 23.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	41.8	51.8	0.81x	31.3 to 54.9	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 Hockley County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,651.4	9,842.6	+39%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	49	59.8	-18%	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	94.2	96.9	-3%	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.

Formaldehyde13.97 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.63 per million
Benzene1.4 per million
Acetaldehyde0.91 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing52
NPDES wastewater discharge permit39
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)17
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Small hazardous waste generator8
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)8
TRI reporting facility5
Major air pollution source3
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

State Road 114 Ground Water Plume, Levelland
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 42.4. NPL Site.
EPA site ID TXSFN0605177 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Oxy Permian - Slaughter/Mallet Complex, Sundown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen sulfide, n-Hexane, Benzene, Cyclohexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 35,507 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7937WXYPRMPBX11 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Mallet Co2 Recovery Plant, Sundown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Benzene, Cyclohexane, Toluene and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 29,448 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7937WMLLTCAPPRX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Het Levelland Llc, Levelland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, Methanol, Formic acid, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 20,080 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7933WDMNDT13SFM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Championx-Levelland, Levelland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Ammonia, Methanol, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,905 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7933WNLCLV192BL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Diamond Ethanol Llc, Levelland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054184235 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Coastal Chemical Co. Llc, Levelland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene. Reports carcinogens. 70 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7933WCSTLC1833W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Oxy Permian - Slaughter/Mallet Complex, Sundown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055499731 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Mallet Co2 Recovery Plant, Sundown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063967088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Scott Manufacturing Inc, Wolfforth
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 25 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79382SCTTM10609 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Nalco Levelland Warehouse, Levelland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035194241 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc., Levelland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Peracetic acid. 161 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7933WNVRTC2119P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.7
Slaughter Gasoline Plant, Sundown
Major air pollution source. Penalties $203,813.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007199879 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Anton Co2 Re-Injection Facility, Anton
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,938.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033449178 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Coastal Chemical Co., Llc, Levelland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071948290 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Coastal Chemical Co. Llc, Levelland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers). 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7933WCSTLC1823F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.6
Levelland Booster, Levelland
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007202687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Nalco Levelland Facility, Levelland
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070435100 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Diamond Ethanol Llc, Levelland
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054184235 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Levelland Muni, Levelland
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID LLN (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Comet Cleaners
Dry cleaner (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/6255391394 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Cactus Cleaners
Dry cleaner (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/6261181337 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Sun Oil Co Roberts-Coble -B-, Hockley County
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008138540 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sun Oil Co T W Roberts, Hockley County
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008138577 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sun Oil Co J J Hobgood, Hockley County
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008138684 (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.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Hockley 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 Hockley 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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