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Lavaca County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lavaca County is 165.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 115 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (38), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (34), Gas station (mapped facility) (10). 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: 29.365, -96.9053.

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 Lavaca County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	33	17.9	1.84xSignificant	23.4 to 45.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	23.1	14.5	1.59xSignificant	15.5 to 33.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14.5	11.3	1.28x	9 to 22.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	17.8	13.9	1.28x	11.7 to 26.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	23.1	18.5	1.25x	16.2 to 32.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	35	30.2	1.16x	26.9 to 45.3	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	165.8	143.2	1.16xSignificant	146.6 to 187.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	470.6	453.4	1.04x	434.7 to 509	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	50	51.8	0.97x	39.8 to 62.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.4	18.7	0.77x	9.2 to 22	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.2	23.8	0.76x	11.4 to 27.8	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 Lavaca County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,893.7	9,842.6	-20%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.3	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	52.7	59.8	-12%	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	67.9	96.9	-30%	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.

Formaldehyde21.01 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde1.47 per million
Ethylene Oxide0.83 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing38
NPDES wastewater discharge permit34
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Major air pollution source8
Public airport5
TRI reporting facility4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

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

Wilcox Gas Plant, Hallettsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Toluene, Benzene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 171,640 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7796WWLCXG44PRI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Yoakum Cryogenic Plant, Yoakum
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Benzene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 16,297 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7799WYKMCR3721U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Kaspar Wire Works, Shiner
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000599727 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Wilcox Gas Plant, Hallettsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070681121 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Ranch Hand - 153, Shiner
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Chromium, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 113 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7798WKSPRR961HW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Yoakum Cryogenic Plant, Yoakum
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061544976 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Wilcox Gas Plant, Sheridan
Major air pollution source. Penalties $8,036.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007181575 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Kaspar Ranch Hand, Shiner
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033749059 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Spoetzl Brewery, Inc., Shiner
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002054106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
City Of Shiner Wwtp, Shiner
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $19,488.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005192326 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Wilcox Gas Plant, Sheridan
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $8,036.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007181575 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
North Word Gas Plant, Hallettsville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002436230 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
North Word Edwards Gas Processing Plant, Hallettsville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007197265 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Stingray Amine Plant, Sweet Home
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028009839 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ne Word Amine Plant, Hallettsville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037591950 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Provident City Compressor Station, Hallettsville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044321285 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Praha Compressor Station, Moulton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071163255 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Yoakum Cryogenic Plant, Yoakum
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070555175 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Spoetzl Brewery Inc, Shiner
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Ammonia.
TRI facility ID 7798WSPTZL63EBR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
City Of Moulton Wwtp, Moulton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009779597 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Fair West Trailers, Hallettsville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006129947 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Hallettsville Muni, Hallettsville
Public airport. O.
Record ID 34R (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Yoakum Muni, Yoakum
Public airport. O.
Record ID T85 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Town and Country Cleaners, Yoakum
Dry cleaner (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/14167386660 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wilcox Gas Plant, Speaks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009003014 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

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 Lavaca 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 Lavaca 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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