TX / county FIPS 48441 / county research

Taylor County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Taylor County is 160.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate and Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 720 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (434), Rail grade crossing (86), Gas station (mapped facility) (79). 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: 32.3066, -99.89.

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 Taylor County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3.3	2	1.65xSignificant	2.1 to 4.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25.6	17.9	1.43xSignificant	22 to 29.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9.1	6.6	1.38xSignificant	7.1 to 11.5	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.5	3.4	1.32x	3.1 to 6.2	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.1	8.7	1.28xSignificant	8.8 to 13.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.2	23.8	1.18xSignificant	24.4 to 32.5	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.3	4.6	1.15x	3.8 to 7.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.5	4.8	1.15x	4 to 7.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15.6	13.9	1.12x	12.9 to 18.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	160.4	143.2	1.12xSignificant	151.7 to 169.6	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	4.1	3.7	1.11x	2.8 to 5.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11.9	11.3	1.05x	9.6 to 14.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	474.2	453.4	1.05xSignificant	458.6 to 490.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.9	5.7	1.04x	4.3 to 7.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	30.5	30.2	1.01x	26.8 to 34.6	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	18.4	18.7	0.98x	15.5 to 21.6	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	16.1	16.4	0.98x	10.3 to 23.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.2	4.4	0.95x	2.9 to 6	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.9	4.1	0.95x	2.6 to 5.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	48.9	51.8	0.94x	44.1 to 54	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.8	6.2	0.94x	4.2 to 7.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.2	18.5	0.93x	14.3 to 20.6	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.4	2.7	0.89x	1.4 to 3.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	12.7	14.5	0.88x	10.2 to 15.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.6	6.6	0.85x	4 to 7.6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	9.6	13	0.74x	7.4 to 12.2	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 Taylor County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,984.6	9,842.6	+12%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.5	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	49.6	59.8	-17%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.4	6.2	-13%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	84	96.9	-13%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	17.5	28.6	-39%	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.

Formaldehyde16.69 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.76 per million
Acetaldehyde1.14 per million
Benzene0.73 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit434
Rail grade crossing86
Gas station (mapped facility)79
Small hazardous waste generator23
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)21
Major air pollution source10
Air permit holder (minor source)10
TRI reporting facility10
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)10
Hazardous waste transporter8
Wind power plant6
Public airport5
Scrapyard (mapped facility)4
Large hazardous waste generator3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Commercial airport2
Brownfield property2
Heliport2
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Landfill (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.

Tige Boats Inc, Abilene
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate. Reports carcinogens. 380,023 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79602TGBTS181HW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Broadwind Towers Inc, Abilene
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, Toluene, Manganese and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 176,625 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7960WTWRTC1126N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Tige Boats Inc, Abilene
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $3,350.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037146932 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Tower Tech, Abilene
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038312215 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Petrosmith Equipment Lp, Abilene
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 60 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7960WSPPPS7435S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Us Air Force Dyess Afb Tx, Dyess Afb
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylbenzene, Naphthalene, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 43 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79607SRFRC713RD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Bridgestone Bandag Llc Abilene Plant, Abilene
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds. 3,900 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 79604BNDGNFARMR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Bandag Building Excellence, Abilene
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000466004 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
City Of Merkel Wwtp, Merkel
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $51,562.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009773548 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
14122 Abilene 1, Abilene
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 6 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7960WBLNXX181ND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Abilene Rgnl, Abilene
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ABI (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
U.S. Air Force Dyess Afb Tx, Dyess Afb
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000821488 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Tige Boats Inc, Abilene
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,350.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037146932 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Quikrete - Abillene Tx Plant, Abilene
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 7960WQKRTB794FM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Petrosmith Equipment Abilene Facility, Abilene
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006452579 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ingram Concrete - Abilene 4, Abilene
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 7960WBLNXX126HA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
City Of Abilene Ms4, Abilene
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002047669 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Abilene, Abaline
Major air pollution source. Penalties $14,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070393998 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Pine Street Salvage, Abilene
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071409734 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Cargill Feed & Nutrition Abilene, Abilene
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001135735 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Western Marketing-Tye, Tye
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035215889 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Abilene Ready Mix Plant, Abilene
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037846409 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Abilene 1, Abilene
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070247348 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Abilene, Abaline
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $14,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070393998 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Quikrete - Abillene, Tx Plant, Abilene
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071433644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4

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