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Lee County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lee County is 152.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 140 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (47), Rail grade crossing (43), Gas station (mapped facility) (20). 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: 30.2945, -96.8883.

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 Lee County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	28.6	17.9	1.6xSignificant	19.8 to 40.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14.9	11.3	1.32x	9.1 to 23.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.3	13.9	1.17x	10.2 to 25.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	152.4	143.2	1.06x	131.3 to 176.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	31.3	30.2	1.04x	22.3 to 43.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	52.3	51.8	1.01x	40.4 to 67.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	435.6	453.4	0.96x	398.2 to 475.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15	18.5	0.81x	8.4 to 25.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.1	18.7	0.81x	8.9 to 24.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	13.5	23.8	0.57x	7.4 to 22.8	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 Lee County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,758.6	9,842.6	-11%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.3	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	72	59.8	+20%	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	100.6	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.

Formaldehyde20.73 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde1.51 per million
Benzene0.69 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit47
Rail grade crossing43
Gas station (mapped facility)20
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Major air pollution source5
TRI reporting facility4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Public airport2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1

Highest-severity records

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

Lfm Giddings West, Giddings
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 444,584 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 78942LFMFGHWY29 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Lfm-Giddings Hq East, Giddings
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 220,909 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75942PRMNTEHWY2 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Giddings Gas Plant, Giddings
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Benzene, n-Hexane, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 54,280 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7894WGDDNG32FM4 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
L.F. Manufacturing Inc. - Qfr P Plant, Giddings
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024423881 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Lf Manufacturing Inc - Mai N Plant, Giddings
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067040936 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Giddings Gas Plant, Giddings
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062371758 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
City Of Lexington Wwtp, Lexington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,700.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009779515 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Stranger Compressor Station, Dime Box
Major air pollution source. Penalties $12,688.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033180670 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Tex Villas Apartments, Giddings
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012916087 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Cargill Animal Nutrition, Giddings
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000497828 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Giddings Qfrp Plant, Giddings
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031507983 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Three Oaks Mine, Elgin
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033157704 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Sandy Booster Station, Dime Box
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033180689 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Giddings Main Plant, Giddings
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059614975 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Former Boat Manufacturing Facility, Giddings
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040721582 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Giddings Qfrp Plant, Giddings
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031507983 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Three Oaks Mine, Elgin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033157704 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cargill Feed & Nutrition Giddings, Giddings
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 78942CRGLL2260I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Lee County Fwsd 1 Wwtp, Dime Box
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009777483 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Giddings Plant, Giddings
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071849263 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Blue Iron Removal Water Treatment Plant, Lexington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071709518 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Giddings-Lee County, Giddings
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID GYB (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
City Of Giddings North Wwtp, Giddings
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009781888 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Lee County Wtp, Lexington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059711012 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Giddings Plant 23, Giddings
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006688619 (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 Lee 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 Lee 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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