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Matagorda County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Matagorda County is 171 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 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 283 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (114), Rail grade crossing (80), 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: 28.8109, -95.9258.

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 Matagorda County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	New cases	15.3	8.7	1.76xSignificant	10.8 to 21.3	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	10.3	6.2	1.66x	6.2 to 16.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	10.2	6.6	1.55xSignificant	6.7 to 15.1	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	6.7	4.4	1.52x	3.8 to 11.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	21.8	14.5	1.5xSignificant	15.6 to 29.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25.6	17.9	1.43xSignificant	19.1 to 33.6	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	6.4	4.6	1.39x	3.6 to 10.7	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	8.8	6.6	1.33x	5.4 to 13.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	18.2	13.9	1.31x	13.2 to 24.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14.2	11.3	1.26x	9.8 to 20.1	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	171	143.2	1.19xSignificant	154.5 to 189	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	34	30.2	1.13x	26.9 to 42.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.3	5.7	1.11x	3.6 to 10.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	55.8	51.8	1.08x	46.6 to 66.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.2	18.5	1.04x	13.6 to 26.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	459.1	453.4	1.01x	430.6 to 489.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.4	18.7	0.77x	9.8 to 20.5	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	9.3	13	0.72x	5.5 to 14.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	11.9	23.8	0.5x	7.6 to 17.9	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 Matagorda County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,455.9	9,842.6	+16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.6	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	75.1	59.8	+26%	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	97	96.9	+0%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	11	28.6	-62%	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.

Formaldehyde18.63 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde1.58 per million
Naphthalene1.03 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit114
Rail grade crossing80
Gas station (mapped facility)15
Major air pollution source14
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Large hazardous waste generator6
TRI reporting facility6
Small hazardous waste generator5
Heliport5
Public airport4
Hazardous waste transporter4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Commercial airport2
Brownfield property1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Nuclear power plant1
Wind 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.

Equistar Chemicals Lp-Matagorda Facility, Bay City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Ethylene, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 753,654 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77483CNCHM13MIL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Celanese Ltd Bay City Plant, Bay City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Vinyl acetate, Ethylene, n-Butyl alcohol, Acetaldehyde and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 433,606 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77414HCHSTPOBOX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Oxea Corp Bay City Plant, Bay City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Butyl alcohol, Butyraldehyde, Ethylene, Propylene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 317,161 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77414XCRPB21FM3 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Celanese - Bay City Plant, Bay City
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $46,575.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031389192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.7
Gulfmark Energy Inc, Bay City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers), Benzene. Reports carcinogens. 12,483 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7741WGLFMRFM357 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Tenaris Bay City Inc., Bay City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Ammonia, Manganese, Nickel and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 8,198 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7741WBYCTY796ST (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Equistar Chemicals Lp Matagor Da Facility, Bay City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006126717 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Chemicals Inc Bay City Site, Bay City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Formaldehyde, Propylene oxide, Maleic anhydride. Reports carcinogens. 314 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7741WCHMCL855ST (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Celanese - Bay City Plant, Bay City
Major air pollution source. Penalties $46,575.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031389192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Gulfmark Energy, Bay City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064374975 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Tenaris Bay City, Bay City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069261266 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Celanese - Bay City Plant, Bay City
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $46,575.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031389192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Celanese - Bay City Plant, Bay City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $46,575.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031389192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Chemicals Bay City Site, Bay City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045563804 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Wfs - Gulf Coast Company Markham Cryogenic Plant, Markham
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $877,575.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008972932 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
South Texas Project, Wadsworth
Nuclear power plant.
Record ID 6251 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 5
Van Vleck Wwtp, Van Vleck
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $18,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009781245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Celanese - Bay City Plant, Bay City
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $46,575.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031389192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Tres Palacios Gas Storage Facility, Markham
Major air pollution source. Penalties $17,125.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035017638 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Tidehaven Jhs Hs Wwtp, Elmaton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $17,187.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064873169 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Williams Fsg - Markham Cryogenic Gas Processing Plant, Markham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzene. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 7745WWFSGL4367C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Park 6 West Wwtp, Bay City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070825158 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Oak Hollow Wwtp, Van Vleck
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009778160 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Bay City Waste Water Treatment Plant Improvements, Bay City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001211386 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Equistar Chemicals Lp Matagor Da Facility, Bay City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006126717 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8

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 Matagorda 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 Matagorda 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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