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Potter County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Potter County is 167.9 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 1.8 times the U.S. rate and Bladder deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 604 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (192), Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility) (102), Rail grade crossing (91). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 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: 35.435, -101.8938.

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 Potter County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	11.6	6.6	1.76xSignificant	9.1 to 14.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	14.5	8.7	1.67xSignificant	11.7 to 17.8	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	6.3	4.1	1.54xSignificant	4.5 to 8.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.4	3.4	1.29x	3 to 6.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.3	17.9	1.25xSignificant	18.7 to 26.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	36.7	30.2	1.22xSignificant	32.1 to 41.8	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	19.5	16.4	1.19x	12.6 to 28.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	167.9	143.2	1.17xSignificant	157.8 to 178.4	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	7.7	6.6	1.17x	5.7 to 10.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.1	11.3	1.16x	10.4 to 16.3	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.3	4.6	1.15x	3.6 to 7.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.9	14.5	1.1x	12.8 to 19.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	56.6	51.8	1.09x	50.8 to 62.9	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	14	13	1.08x	11.1 to 17.4	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.6	6.2	1.06x	4.7 to 9	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6	5.7	1.05x	4.2 to 8.2	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.8	2.7	1.04x	1.6 to 4.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.1	13.9	1.01x	11.3 to 17.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	459.2	453.4	1.01x	442.3 to 476.6	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.3	4.4	0.98x	2.8 to 6.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.5	3.7	0.95x	2.1 to 5.4	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.4	23.8	0.9x	17.8 to 25.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.2	4.8	0.88x	2.8 to 6.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.9	18.5	0.81x	12 to 18.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	13.9	18.7	0.74x	11.1 to 17.1	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 Potter County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,393.5	9,842.6	+36%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.8	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	73.9	59.8	+24%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.4	6.2	+19%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	105.3	96.9	+9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	21.8	28.6	-24%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde13.57 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.63 per million
Acetaldehyde0.85 per million
Benzene0.69 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 320 days: 301 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 16, peak 85.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit192
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)102
Rail grade crossing91
Gas station (mapped facility)84
Small hazardous waste generator28
Hazardous waste transporter17
Air permit holder (minor source)15
Scrapyard (mapped facility)15
Major air pollution source13
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)13
TRI reporting facility8
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)7
Large hazardous waste generator6
EPA air quality monitor3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Heliport2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Coal power plant1
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.

Asarco Llc Amarillo Copper Refinery, Amarillo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper And Copper Compounds, Arsenic And Arsenic Compounds, Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Copper compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 695,198 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79120SRCNCHWY13 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Southwestern Public Service Co Harrington Station, Amarillo
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, Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Zinc compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 364,127 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79108STHWSNLAKE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Gri Towers Texas, Amarillo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Nickel and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 58,849 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7910WGRTWR92NE2 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Tyson Fresh Meats Inc, Amarillo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Hydrogen sulfide, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 3 more. 1,174,741 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79187BPNCXFARMR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Fain Gas Plant, Masterson
Major air pollution source. Penalties $186,663.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035782285 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Harrington, Amarillo
Coal power plant.
Record ID 6193 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 7
Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc - Amarillo, Tx, Amarillo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009497785 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Southwestern Public Service Co, Amarillo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042010999 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Gri Towers Texas, Amarillo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070551270 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Western Marketing Inc., Amarillo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ethylene glycol, Zinc compounds. 3,480 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7910WWSTRN121NE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Excel Machinery Ltd, Amarillo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 30 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7912WXCLMC121IH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Valley Proteins - Amarillo Facility, Amarillo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 1,785 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7910WVLLYPN8415 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Coastal Chemical Co. Llc, Amarillo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ethylene glycol, Diethanolamine. 1,506 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7910WCSTLC3SART (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Amarillo Asphalt Plant, Amarillo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 12 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7912WMRLLS16IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Amarillo 1, Amarillo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 8 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7910WMRLLX1SVAN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Rick Husband Amarillo Intl, Amarillo
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID AMA (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Cliffside Crude Helium Enrichment Unit, Amarillo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071410764 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Cliffside Crude Helium Enrichment Unit, Amarillo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane. 198 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7912WCLFFS1331B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.8
Quikrete - Amarillo Tx Plant, Amarillo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 7910WQKRTM551NW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Excel Machinery Ltd, Amarillo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009504107 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Western Marketing-Amarillo, Amarillo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043326665 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Amarillo Asphalt Plant 25, Amarillo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061416169 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Quikrete - Amarillo, Tx Plant, Amarillo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071433645 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Amarillo A&M, Amarillo
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 483750320 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3.9
Leading Edge Aviation Services Amarillo, Amarillo
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000465755 (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 Potter 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 Potter 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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