TX / county FIPS 48227 / county research

Howard County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Howard County is 187.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Liver & bile duct deaths at 2.2 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 194 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (65), Gas station (mapped facility) (25), Air permit holder (minor source) (21). 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: 32.3903, -101.4339.

How this county ranks in Texas

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Howard County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	14.6	6.6	2.21xSignificant	9.5 to 21.4	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	16.8	8.7	1.93xSignificant	11.3 to 24.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	28.2	17.9	1.58xSignificant	20.8 to 37.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41	30.2	1.36xSignificant	31.7 to 52.1	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	187.2	143.2	1.31xSignificant	166.8 to 209.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.8	13.9	1.21x	11.3 to 24.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.7	14.5	1.08x	10.1 to 23.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.2	11.3	1.08x	7.5 to 18.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	53.1	51.8	1.03x	42.6 to 65.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	455.1	453.4	1x	423.6 to 488.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.2	18.7	0.81x	9.8 to 22.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.8	18.5	0.75x	8.8 to 20.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17	23.8	0.71x	11.3 to 24.6	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 Howard County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,671.6	9,842.6	+19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.6	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	75.9	59.8	+27%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.8	6.2	+9%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	105.9	96.9	+9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	16.3	28.6	-43%	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.

Formaldehyde15.89 per million
Benzene3.78 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.7 per million
Acetaldehyde0.98 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit65
Gas station (mapped facility)25
Air permit holder (minor source)21
Rail grade crossing21
Major air pollution source20
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Small hazardous waste generator6
TRI reporting facility6
Wind power plant5
Large hazardous waste generator4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Hazardous waste transporter2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Battery storage plant1
Gas 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.

Big Spring Carbon Black Plant, Big Spring
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $36,001.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607102 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Alon Usa-Big Spring Refinery, Big Spring
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzene, Ammonia, Hydrogen cyanide, Propylene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,693,119 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79721FNLNDIS20E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Alon Usa Refinery, Big Spring
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $102,375.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013314323 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.1
Big Spring Carbon Black Plant, Big Spring
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Carbon disulfide, Hydrogen sulfide, Carbonyl sulfide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 451,994 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79721SDRCHPOBOX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Endurance Lift Solutions Llc, Big Spring
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 64,127 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79720FBRCM364BE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
R2r & D Llc Dba Superod, Big Spring
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 33,526 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79720R2RDL348E1 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Rawhide Gas Plant, Big Spring
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Cyclohexane, Methanol, Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 25,158 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7972WRWHDG527MC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Big Spring Carbon Black Plant, Big Spring
Major air pollution source. Penalties $36,001.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607102 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Nalco Co - Big Spring, Big Spring
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,117 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79720CHMPN4424S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Big Spring Carbon Black Plant, Big Spring
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $36,001.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607102 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Big Spring Carbon Black Plant, Big Spring
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $36,001.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607102 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Alon Usa Refinery, Big Spring
Major air pollution source. Penalties $102,375.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013314323 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Endurance Lift Solutions, Big Spring
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033190277 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
R2r & D Llc Dba Superod, Big Spring
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055499768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Alon Usa Refinery, Big Spring
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $102,375.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013314323 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Alon Usa Refinery, Big Spring
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $102,375.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013314323 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Champion Technologies - Big Spring, Texas, Big Spring
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062076550 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Alon Usa Refinery, Big Spring
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $102,375.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013314323 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Big Spring Asphalt Plant, Big Spring
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 3 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7972WSTCPR419IH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Fryar Treating Facility, Big Spring
Major air pollution source. Penalties $12,688.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070050054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
East Vealmoor Gas Plant, Coahoma
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,125,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000503928 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fiber Composite Bethel Lane, Big Spring
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,875.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033949413 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Astec Portable Plant 100014, Big Spring
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070937245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
City Of Big Spring Water Reclamation Plant, Big Spring
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064420871 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Fiber Composite Bethel Lane, Big Spring
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,875.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033949413 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4

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 Howard 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 Howard 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.

Scan an address in Howard County View on the heat map All Texas counties