TX / county FIPS 48427 / county research

Starr County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Starr County is 138.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.9 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 129 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (60), Rail grade crossing (28), Gas station (mapped facility) (11). 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: 26.5121, -98.7861.

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 Starr County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	New cases	17.2	8.7	1.98xSignificant	12.8 to 22.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	12.3	6.6	1.86xSignificant	8.6 to 17.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.3	3.4	1.56x	3 to 8.5	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6.7	4.6	1.46x	4 to 10.4	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	21.1	16.4	1.29x	12.7 to 32.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23	17.9	1.28x	17.8 to 29.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.8	14.5	1.23x	13.3 to 23.3	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.7	6.6	1.17x	4.9 to 11.6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.4	13	1.03x	9.5 to 18.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	138.1	143.2	0.96x	124.9 to 152.4	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.8	6.2	0.94x	3.6 to 9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.2	18.5	0.93x	12.7 to 22.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	398.2	453.4	0.88x	375.6 to 421.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.2	11.3	0.81x	6.1 to 13.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	10.8	13.9	0.78x	7.4 to 15.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	19.3	30.2	0.64x	14.5 to 25.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	27	51.8	0.52x	21.3 to 33.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	6	18.7	0.32x	3.6 to 9.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	5.9	23.8	0.25x	3.4 to 9.4	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 Starr County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,793.2	9,842.6	-1%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.9	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	46.2	59.8	-23%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.8	6.2	-22%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	40.3	96.9	-58%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	5.1	28.6	-82%	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.

Formaldehyde18.93 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.85 per million
Acetaldehyde1.08 per million
Benzene0.64 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit60
Rail grade crossing28
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Major air pollution source6
Air permit holder (minor source)5
Wind power plant5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Public airport2
Brownfield property2
Hydroelectric 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.

Union Water Supply Wwtp, Garciasville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $930.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070693078 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Rio Grande City Wwtp, Rio Grande City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000760873 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
City Of Roma Wtf, Roma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009748522 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
City Of Roma Wwtp 2, Roma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,188.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009772433 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Delmita Gas Plant, San Isidro
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007199147 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Transtexas Gas Corp., Roma
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007206317 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Rio Grande City Compressor Station, Rio Grande City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030747681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Flores Compressor Station, Sullivan City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033689970 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
City Of Roma Landfill, Roma
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034292842 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Bob West Dew Point Plant, Falcon Heights
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070102343 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Fordyce Tract 1, Rio Grande City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038752980 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Fordyce Property Tract Ii, Rio Grande City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038752999 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lopez Ready Mix Concrete, Rio Grande City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034056508 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Lopez Ready Mix Concrete, Rio Grande City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038111655 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Rio Grande City Muni, Rio Grande City
Public airport. O.
Record ID 67R (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1364371038 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1411042354 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1412514614 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Koch Pipeline, Starr(Sunfield) Station, San Isidro
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007183314 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Exxon Chatterton Compressor Station, La Gloria
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008140341 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Union Water Supply Corp Wwtf, Garciasville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008996783 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
La India Feedyard, Rio Grande City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022280459 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
J & R Feedlot, Rio Grande City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022415616 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Starr Feedyards, Rio Grande City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024411821 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Luiggis Auto Sales & Salvage, Roma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033903275 (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 Starr 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 Starr 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 Starr County View on the heat map All Texas counties