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Shelby County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Shelby County is 189.3 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 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 152 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (77), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (48), Major air pollution source (6). 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: 31.7742, -94.1275.

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 Shelby County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	49.7	30.2	1.65xSignificant	39.5 to 62	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9.9	6.6	1.5x	5.6 to 16.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	69	51.8	1.33xSignificant	56.8 to 83.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	189.3	143.2	1.32xSignificant	168.4 to 212.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.2	13.9	1.02x	9.1 to 21.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19	18.7	1.02x	12.7 to 27.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.6	18.5	0.95x	11.7 to 25.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	421.2	453.4	0.93x	388.9 to 455.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.6	17.9	0.93x	10.5 to 24.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.2	11.3	0.9x	5.8 to 16.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	12.9	14.5	0.89x	7.6 to 20.7	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 Shelby County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,932.1	9,842.6	+42%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.3	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	126	59.8	+111%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.4	6.2	+35%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	97.9	96.9	+1%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde26.66 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.34 per million
Benzene1.36 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing77
NPDES wastewater discharge permit48
Major air pollution source6
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Air permit holder (minor source)3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Hazardous waste transporter2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Tyson Farms, Center
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000458683 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
Tyson Farms Inc-Center Tx P Rocessing, Center
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Certain glycol ethers, Peracetic acid and 1 more. 2,384,909 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75935HLLYF1019S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Tyson Farms, Center
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000458683 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Tyson Farms, Center
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000458683 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
City Of Center - Mill Creek Water Treatment Plant, Center
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001880331 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
City Of Tenaha Wwtp, Tenaha
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $161,825.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010922813 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
City Of Huxley Wtp, Shelbyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009747738 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
City Of Joaquin Wwtp, Joaquin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071075474 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Joaquin Gas Plant, Joaquin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzene. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 7595WJQNPR1773C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Pilgrim'S Pride Corp Nacogdoches (Tenaha) Feed Mill, Tenaha
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006525518 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tyson Feed Mill - Center Tx, Center
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070619792 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Exxonmobil - Center Terminal, Center
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008138194 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Center Plant, Center
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012493140 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Texas Eastern Transmission, Lp - Joaquin, Tx, Joaquin
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042005987 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Teneha Station, Teneha
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046273457 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Pinehurst Compressor Station, Magnolia
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054879958 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Center Plant, Center
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012493140 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Texas Eastern Transmission, Lp - Joaquin, Tx, Joaquin
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042005987 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Tyson Feed Mill - Center Tx, Center
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 7593WTYSNF1145C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
City Of Timpson Wwtf, Timpson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009773450 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
City Of Timpson, Timpson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034654504 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Screening Op No 1, Shelbyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071658660 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Shelbyville Isd Wwtp, Shelbyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009774645 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
City Of Center Mill Creek Wtp, Center
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010923037 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Aiken Surface Wtp, Shelby County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064605066 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2

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 Shelby 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 Shelby 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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