TX / county FIPS 48437 / county research

Swisher County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Swisher County is 172.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 64 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (38), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (12), Public airport (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: 34.5323, -101.735.

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 Swisher County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	172.4	143.2	1.2x	135.6 to 216.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	34.6	30.2	1.15x	19.7 to 57.4	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	460	453.4	1.01x	396.6 to 531	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	49.5	51.8	0.96x	31.2 to 75.5	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 Swisher County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,481.2	9,842.6	+57%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.3	75.3	-7%	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	102.5	96.9	+6%	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.

Formaldehyde12.98 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.64 per million
Acetaldehyde0.88 per million
Benzene0.58 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing38
NPDES wastewater discharge permit12
Public airport5
Gas station (mapped facility)4
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Superfund (NPL) site1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

North East 2nd Street (formerly Attebury Grain Storage Facility), Happy
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 32.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID TXN000606760 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Oldcastle Lawn And Garden, Tulia
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071407265 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Oldcastle Lawn & Garden, Tulia
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead compounds, Trifluralin, Lead And Lead Compounds.
TRI facility ID 7908WLDCST7355F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Joe Vaughn Spraying, Kress
Public airport. O.
Record ID 29F (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
City Of Tulia/Swisher County Muni, Tulia
Public airport. O.
Record ID I06 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
City Of Happy Wwtp, Happy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009115536 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Wrangler Feedyard, Tulia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020549334 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Swisher County Cattle, Tulia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020571898 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
D A Mfg, Tulia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034578712 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Whitfield Farms, Kress
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037516499 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Diamond B Feedyard, Tulia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110066919428 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rock Creek Wind Project, Near Silverton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070371311 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tierra Blanca Potable Water Infrastructure, Canyon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071203489 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cobalt Cattle Tulia, Tulia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071237022 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Frye Substation, Tulia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071238886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
High Plains Concrete - Tulia, Tulia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071945165 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nazareth Solar, Tulia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072202494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Northeast Third Street, Happy
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 017201S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Fm1075 / Main Street, Happy
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 017202Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private, Happy
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 017204M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
County Road D, Happy
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 017206B (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Country Road 149, Happy
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 017208P (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
County Road 150, Happy
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 017209W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
County Road 11, Tulia
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 017212E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
County Road K, Tulia
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 017213L (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3

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 Swisher 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 Swisher 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 Swisher County View on the heat map All Texas counties