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Palo Pinto County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Palo Pinto County is 207.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Brain & nervous system deaths at 2 times the U.S. rate and Bladder deaths at 1.9 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 143 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (81), Rail grade crossing (26), Public airport (7). 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: 32.7618, -98.3187.

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 Palo Pinto County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	8.6	4.4	1.95xSignificant	4.7 to 14.5	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	7.8	4.1	1.9xSignificant	4.4 to 13	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	53.4	30.2	1.77xSignificant	44 to 64.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7.7	4.8	1.6x	4.3 to 12.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	207.1	143.2	1.45xSignificant	187.4 to 228.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	12.4	8.7	1.43x	8 to 18.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9.4	6.6	1.42x	5.7 to 15	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7.6	5.7	1.33x	4.4 to 12.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	67.3	51.8	1.3xSignificant	56.8 to 79.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30.2	23.8	1.27x	22.5 to 39.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.1	17.9	1.23x	15.6 to 30.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	529.9	453.4	1.17xSignificant	496.9 to 564.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15	13.9	1.08x	10 to 21.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.3	18.5	1.04x	13.2 to 27.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.7	14.5	1.01x	9.8 to 21.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.3	18.7	0.98x	12.8 to 25.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.9	11.3	0.96x	7 to 16.6	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 Palo Pinto County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,397	9,842.6	+16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.2	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	47.6	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	94.3	96.9	-3%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	26.4	28.6	-8%	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.

Formaldehyde19.08 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.84 per million
Acetaldehyde1.44 per million
Benzene0.66 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit81
Rail grade crossing26
Public airport7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Major air pollution source6
TRI reporting facility5
Small hazardous waste generator3
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Heliport2
Brownfield property1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Gas 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.

Rm Miller Power, Palo Pinto
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Naphthalene, Polycyclic aromatic compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 759,572 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7648WRMMLL2217F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Buckley Oil Co - Mineral Well Site, Mineral Wells
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Methanol, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 58,240 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7606WBCKLY387SE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Mineral Wells Facility, Mineral Wells
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 24,993 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7606WMNRLW248RS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Polymer Adhesives Plant, Mineral Wells
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $37,049.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000822600 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
General Shale Brick Inc. - Plant 48, Mineral Wells
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Hydrogen fluoride, Lead, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 4,621 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76067TFFNY500NE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Buckley Oil Mineral Wells, Mineral Wells
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045565580 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Polymer Adhesive Llc, Mineral Wells
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Ammonia, Methanol. 54,371 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76067TWSHK201GA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Rm Miller Power, Palo Pinto
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071434545 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Rw Miller Plant, Palo Pinto
Major air pollution source. Penalties $53,550.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006451945 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Mineral Wells Facility, Mineral Wells
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071717686 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Rw Miller Plant, Palo Pinto
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $53,550.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006451945 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Hanson Brick East Llc - Mineral Wells West Plant, Mineral Wells
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000459245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
City Of Strawn, Strawn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $70,408.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069996219 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Polymer Adhesives Plant, Mineral Wells
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $37,049.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000822600 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
General Shale Brick Inc. - Plant 47, Mineral Wells
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Manganese compounds. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76067THNSB7510H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.7
Southwire Co-Mineral Wells Plant, Mineral Wells
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Antimony And Antimony Compounds, Copper. 147 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76067NMCBL3800I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.7
City Of Strawn-Plant 2 - Sh 16, N Of Cr 499, Strawn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006687503 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
City Of Graford Wwtp, Palo Pinto
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009747532 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
The Cliffs Wwtp, Graford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $21,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009775118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Willow Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, Mineral Wells
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061392416 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Arnold Stone Santo Facility, Gordon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044904850 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
R W Miller, Palo Pinto
Gas power plant.
Record ID 3628 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.6
Hanson Brick East Llc - Mineral Wells West Plant, Mineral Wells
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000459245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gulf Energy Processing Corp, Santo
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007205862 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Texas Masonry Supply, Strawn
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034808457 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

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 Palo Pinto 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 Palo Pinto 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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