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Irion County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Irion County is 158 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 75 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (55), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (7), Air permit holder (minor source) (4). 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: 31.2995, -100.9812.

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 Irion County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	158	143.2	1.1x	92.3 to 259.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	443.2	453.4	0.98x	325.4 to 595.2	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 Irion County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,258.7	9,842.6	+4%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	n/a	75.3	n/a	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	n/a	96.9	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde15.44 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.71 per million
Acetaldehyde0.92 per million
Ethylene Oxide0.87 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing55
NPDES wastewater discharge permit7
Air permit holder (minor source)4
Major air pollution source3
Public airport2
Wind power plant1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)1
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.

Mertzon Gas Plant, Mertzon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Benzene, n-Hexane, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 32,446 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7694WMRTZN7MIWF (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Mertzon Gas Plant, Mertzon
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070117736 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Western Gas Resources, Inc., Barnhart
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001875640 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Irion County Gas Plant, Barnhart
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007181922 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Mertzon Gas Plant, Mertzon
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039102832 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Mertzon Quarry, Mertzon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071946242 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1359792604 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Barnhart Wwtp, Barnhart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059806269 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Santa Rita East Wind Energy Project, Barnhart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070363371 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Barnhart Truck Parking Facility, Barnhart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070371138 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Allsups 102422 Mertzon Tx, Mertzon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071321585 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Barnhart No 2, Barnhart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071346178 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mertzon Terminal, Mertzon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071371660 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Metcalf Road, Mertzon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 018790M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Mertzon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 018792B (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
County Road 211, Mertzon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 018793H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Mertzon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 018794P (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Mertzon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 018795W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Mertzon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 018796D (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Mertzon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 018797K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Mertzon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 018798S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Mertzon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 018799Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Mertzon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 018800R (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Mertzon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 018801X (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Mertzon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 018802E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2

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 Irion 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 Irion 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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