TX / county FIPS 48399 / county research

Runnels County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Runnels County is 192.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 86 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (46), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (21), Gas station (mapped facility) (5). 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: 31.8388, -99.9766.

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 Runnels County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	New cases	22.4	8.7	2.57xSignificant	12.7 to 37.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	35.9	17.9	2.01xSignificant	21.9 to 55.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	45.3	30.2	1.5xSignificant	31.6 to 63.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	192.8	143.2	1.35xSignificant	161.9 to 228.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	29	23.8	1.22x	16.5 to 47.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	22.6	18.7	1.21x	13.3 to 37	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	527.2	453.4	1.16xSignificant	472.5 to 586.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	52.4	51.8	1.01x	37.2 to 72.7	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 Runnels County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,983.6	9,842.6	+12%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.8	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	98.6	96.9	+2%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde15.52 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.76 per million
Acetaldehyde1.05 per million
Benzene0.49 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing46
NPDES wastewater discharge permit21
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Public airport2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Major air pollution source1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
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.

Mueller Supply Co Inc., Ballinger
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Manganese, Nickel and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 34,434 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 76821MLLRSHWY67 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Mueller Supply Company Incorporated, Ballinger
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $113,820.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006172373 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Buddy'S Plant Plus Corp, Ballinger
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Pendimethalin, Trifluralin, 2,4-D 2-ethylhexyl ester, Manganese and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 22 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7682WBDDYS222NR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Outlier Dairy, Miles
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,125.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056154548 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Buddys Plant Plus, Ballinger
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037445743 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Winters Gas Plant, Winters
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007179105 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gfb Filter Service, Ballinger
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005159194 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Abf Freight System, Winters
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $535,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070375056 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Ac Nutrition, Winters
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $875.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071069526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Winters Muni, Winters
Public airport. O.
Record ID 77F (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Bruce Fld, Ballinger
Public airport. O.
Record ID E30 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID relation/20582207 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Compadres Dairy, Miles
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020147633 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ballinger Plant, Ballinger
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033563436 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Buddys Plant Plus, Ballinger
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037445743 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Roll Up Door Division Mueller, Ballinger
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038487535 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tapia Dairy Farm, Miles
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039189874 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Busher Ranch Feedyard, Winters
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067239857 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wtrr Pieper Clay Pit, Blackwel
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070356427 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
River Road Aggregates, Norton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070371194 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kozelsky Custom Cabinet Shop, Winters
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070371787 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wtrr Mccrea, Norton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070520224 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ballinger Hmplaydown Yard, Ballinger
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070568243 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Us 67 Csj 0158-01-083 Etc, Ballinger
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070685462 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Reed Pit, Bronte
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070815288 (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 Runnels 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 Runnels 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 Runnels County View on the heat map All Texas counties