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Waller County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Waller County is 160 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Pancreas deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 615 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (459), Rail grade crossing (47), Gas station (mapped facility) (32). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 30 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: 29.9881, -95.9997.

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 Waller County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	6.9	4.6	1.5x	4.1 to 11	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	16	11.3	1.42xSignificant	11.6 to 21.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.9	8.7	1.37x	8.3 to 16.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	16.6	13.9	1.19x	11.9 to 22.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.1	17.9	1.18x	16 to 27.3	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	14.7	13	1.13x	10.4 to 20.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	160	143.2	1.12xSignificant	144.8 to 176.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	33.5	30.2	1.11x	26.7 to 41.3	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.7	6.2	1.08x	3.8 to 10.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	489	453.4	1.08xSignificant	462.4 to 516.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.9	18.7	1.06x	14.8 to 26.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.8	23.8	1.04x	19 to 31.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.8	6.6	1.03x	4 to 10.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	50.9	51.8	0.98x	42.7 to 60.3	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.4	6.6	0.97x	3.7 to 10.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11.3	14.5	0.78x	7.5 to 16.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.6	18.5	0.74x	9.3 to 19.2	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 Waller County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,935.5	9,842.6	-9%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.9	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	46.8	59.8	-22%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.2	6.2	-0%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	67.8	96.9	-30%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	14	28.6	-51%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 30 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde21.65 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Ethylene Oxide2.05 per million
Acetaldehyde1.83 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit459
Rail grade crossing47
Gas station (mapped facility)32
Air permit holder (minor source)16
Small hazardous waste generator13
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)11
Public airport10
TRI reporting facility10
Major air pollution source5
Large hazardous waste generator4
Airfield2
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1
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.

Sheridan Disposal Services, Hempstead
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 30.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID TXD062132147 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Refinery Specialties Hempstead Facility, Hempstead
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $105,928.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063681724 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
Imperative Chemical Partners Hempstead Facility, Hempstead
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Xylene (mixed isomers), Formaldehyde, Nonylphenol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 22,681 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7744WRFNRY3816F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Refinery Specialties Hempstead Facility, Hempstead
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $105,928.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063681724 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Prairie View A & M Univ-Engineering, Prairie View
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008146808 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Willow River Farms - Wwtp, Brookshire
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $15,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006686764 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Refinery Specialties Hempstead Facility, Hempstead
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $105,928.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063681724 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Grundfos Cbs, Brookshire
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7742WGRNDF92KME (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Alegacy Equipment Llc, Waller
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol. 270 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7748WLGCYQ1475A (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Prairie View A&M University Wwtp, Prairie View
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064646325 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Allied Plant 6 - West Katy, Katy
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7749WPLNTX28333 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.7
Allied Plant 7 - Brookshire, Brookshire
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 7742WPLNTX2441F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Pavestone - Katy Tx Plant, Katy
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 7749WPVSTN83BRK (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Heidelberg Materials - Brookshire Rmc, Brookshire
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 7742WBRKSH1932F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
R&B Ready Mix, Magnolia
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 7744WCYTRD25277 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Beacon Estates Wsc, Brookshire
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006683749 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Westlake Royal Roofing - Katy, Brookshire
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 77423MNRLF30595 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Oldcastle Precast Brookshire Plant, Brookshire
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022523919 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Grundfos Cbs, Brookshire
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070370864 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Alegacy Equipment, Waller
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070371323 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Goya Foods, Brookshire
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046338049 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
The Good Shepherd Retreat The Vineyard, Hempstead
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,725.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071094676 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Oldcastle Precast Inc, Brookshire
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead compounds, Mercury compounds. 40 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77423LDCST212FM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.2
Plant 6, Katy
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064514743 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.1
Monierlifetile L L C, Brookshire
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000462455 (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 Waller 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 Waller 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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