TX / county FIPS 48361 / county research

Orange County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Orange County is 174.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate and Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 511 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (170), Rail grade crossing (147), Gas station (mapped facility) (54). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 40 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: 30.055, -93.8748.

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 Orange County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.4	3.4	1.59xSignificant	3.6 to 7.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9.6	6.6	1.45xSignificant	7.2 to 12.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	20.6	14.5	1.42xSignificant	16.7 to 25.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	42.9	30.2	1.42xSignificant	37.5 to 48.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25	17.9	1.4xSignificant	20.9 to 29.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.7	8.7	1.34xSignificant	9.1 to 15	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	68.7	51.8	1.33xSignificant	61.8 to 76.3	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.7	3.7	1.27x	3 to 7.1	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	174.7	143.2	1.22xSignificant	163.3 to 186.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.5	11.3	1.11x	9.6 to 16.1	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.8	4.4	1.09x	3 to 7.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	490.4	453.4	1.08xSignificant	470.9 to 510.5	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.3	4.1	1.05x	2.7 to 6.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.1	13.9	1.01x	11 to 17.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.9	18.7	0.96x	14.4 to 22.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.8	18.5	0.91x	13.4 to 20.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.1	5.7	0.89x	3.3 to 7.6	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.5	6.2	0.89x	3.6 to 8.2	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	3.9	4.6	0.85x	2.4 to 6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.9	13	0.84x	8 to 14.6	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5	6.6	0.76x	3.3 to 7.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.9	23.8	0.75x	14.2 to 22.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	3.6	4.8	0.75x	2.1 to 5.8	2020-2024

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 Orange County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,675.2	9,842.6	+29%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.9	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	66.8	59.8	+12%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.6	6.2	+5%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	103.9	96.9	+7%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	35.6	28.6	+25%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 40 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde22.92 per million
Ethylene Oxide7.43 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.68 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 364 days: 219 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 45, peak 90.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit170
Rail grade crossing147
Gas station (mapped facility)54
Major air pollution source23
TRI reporting facility19
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)19
Air permit holder (minor source)17
Hazardous waste transporter16
Large hazardous waste generator14
Large greenhouse gas emitter10
Small hazardous waste generator7
EPA air quality monitor3
Public airport2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Gas power plant2
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Industrial wastewater discharge1
Biomass power plant1
Other power plant1
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.

Degussa Engineered Carbons Echo Carbon Plant, Orange
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $16,362.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000463944 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Sabine River Operations, Orange
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $6,851,608.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017746368 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Inv Nylon Chemicals Americas - Orange Site, Orange
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $243,352.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022523982 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Usg Paper Llc, Orange
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ammonia, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Hydrogen sulfide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,123,848 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77630NLNDROLDHI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.7
Dow Sabine River Operations, Orange
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene, Vinyl acetate, Butyl acrylate, Propylene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,828,219 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77631DPNTSFARMR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.6
Inv Nylon Chemicals Americas Orange Site, Orange
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Cyanide compounds, Ammonia, Hydrogen cyanide, Formic acid and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,653,730 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77630NVSTS355AF (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.4
Arlanxeo, Orange
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Cyclohexane, n-Hexane, 1,3-Butadiene, Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,948,194 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77631PLYSRFM100 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Lion Elastomers Orange Llc, Orange
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Cyclohexane, 1,3-Butadiene, Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 696,129 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77630FRSTNFARMR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Honeywell International Inc, Orange
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene, Vinyl acetate, Acrylic acid. Reports carcinogens. 560,807 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77630LLDSGFM100 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Orion Engineered Carbons Orange Plant, Orange
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen sulfide, Carbon disulfide, Hydrogen cyanide, Carbonyl sulfide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 318,108 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77630JMHBRFM736 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Solvay Specialty Polymers Usa Llc, Orange
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene, Freon 113 (CFC-113), Chloroform, Methanol and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 206,960 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77631SMNTNFM100 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Arcwood Environmental Llc - B-4000, Orange
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $21,285.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070801644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Orange Plant, Orange
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $33,337.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000743866 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.1
Chevron Phillips Chemical Orange Polyethylene Plant, Orange
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $63,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034635367 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
International Paper - Linerboard Mill, Orange
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $344,250.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037526442 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Optimus Steel Llc, Vidor
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 30,681 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77701NRTHSOLDHI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Chem32 Llc, Orange
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Molybdenum trioxide, Hydrogen sulfide, Copper, Nickel And Nickel Compounds and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 24,239 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77630SCHLMTHOMA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Degussa Engineered Carbons Echo Carbon Plant, Orange
Major air pollution source. Penalties $16,362.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000463944 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Sabine River Operations, Orange
Major air pollution source. Penalties $6,851,608.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017746368 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Inv Nylon Chemicals Americas - Orange Site, Orange
Major air pollution source. Penalties $243,352.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022523982 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
International Paper - Linerboard Mill, Orange
Major air pollution source. Penalties $344,250.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037526442 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Arcwood Environmental Llc - B-4000, Orange
Major air pollution source. Penalties $21,285.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070801644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Chevron Phillips Chemical Co Lp-Orange, Orange
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). 552,605 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77630CHVRNFM100 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Jefferson Railport Terminal, Vidor
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Cyclohexane, n-Hexane, Benzene, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,252 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7766WJFFRS1LDHI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions Inc. - Orange, Orange
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Naphthalene, Zinc compounds, n-Butyl alcohol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,113 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77630BTZLB3901W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3

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 Orange 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 Orange 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 Orange County View on the heat map All Texas counties