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Houston County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Houston County is 150.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 128 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (41), Rail grade crossing (40), Gas station (mapped facility) (15). 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: 31.2593, -95.4349.

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 Houston County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	Deaths	14.6	11.3	1.29x	9.7 to 21.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11	8.7	1.26x	6.6 to 17.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.4	17.9	1.14x	13.9 to 29.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.1	14.5	1.11x	10 to 24.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.6	18.5	1.06x	12.9 to 28.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	150.3	143.2	1.05x	132.6 to 170	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.5	13.9	1.04x	9.3 to 21.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.1	30.2	0.96x	21.7 to 38.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	430.8	453.4	0.95x	398.5 to 465.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	46.4	51.8	0.9x	37 to 57.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.3	18.7	0.87x	10.7 to 24.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	10.6	23.8	0.45x	6 to 17.8	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 Houston County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,868.2	9,842.6	+31%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.5	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	113.6	59.8	+90%	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	92.8	96.9	-4%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde24.94 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde2.11 per million
Ethylene Oxide1.08 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit41
Rail grade crossing40
Gas station (mapped facility)15
Public airport5
Air permit holder (minor source)4
Small hazardous waste generator4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Major air pollution source3
TRI reporting facility3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Scrapyard (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.

Nucor Vulcraft Group - Grapeland Div, Grapeland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Manganese, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 289,207 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75844VLCRFHWY28 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Darling Ingredients Inc. - Grapeland, Grapeland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 1,789,192 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7584WDRLNG834FM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Darling Ingredients Inc- Grapeland, Grapeland
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $46,425.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070504974 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
Alamo Gas Plant, Crockett
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Benzene. Reports carcinogens. 6,739 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7583WLMGSP1277C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Aquapharm Pchem Llc., Crockett
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Naphthalene, Benzyl chloride, Formaldehyde and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,423 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75849PCHMN100OL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Northside Wwtp, Crockett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $184,700.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064636764 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Nucor Vulcraft Group - Grapeland Div, Grapeland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000598997 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Alamo Gas Processing Plant, Crockett
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110066943632 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Tdcj Eastham Unit, Lovelady
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $54,390.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034270394 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Hazpak, Houston
Hazardous waste transporter. Penalties $228,700.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005133989 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Southside Wwtp, Crockett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $18,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010923484 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Alamo Gas Plant, Crockett
Major air pollution source. Penalties $141,550.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067571041 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Nucor Vulcraft Group - Grapeland Div, Grapeland
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000598997 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
City Of Kennard Wwtp, Kennard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009779098 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
City Of Lovelady Wwtp, Lovelady
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009780709 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Grapeland Facility, Grapeland
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033214000 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Aquapharm Pchem, Latexo
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064100084 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Rtp Company Crockett, Crockett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607889 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Latexo Wetlands, Latexo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009772969 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Grapeland Facility, Grapeland
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033214000 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
City Of Grapeland Wwtp, Grapeland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062315766 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Alamo Gas Processing Plant, Crockett
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110066943632 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Darling Ingredients Inc- Grapeland, Grapeland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $46,425.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070504974 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Houston County, Crockett
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID DKR (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/398724191 (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 Houston 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 Houston 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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