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Washington County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Washington County is 137.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 171 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (70), Rail grade crossing (38), Gas station (mapped facility) (21). 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: 30.2215, -96.4299.

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 Washington County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	7	4.4	1.59x	3.8 to 11.9	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	9.3	6.2	1.5x	5.4 to 15.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.4	17.9	1.36xSignificant	18.6 to 31.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7.1	5.7	1.25x	4.5 to 11.1	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.2	14.5	1.19x	12.3 to 23.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	27.9	23.8	1.17x	21.6 to 35.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.3	11.3	1.09x	8.5 to 17.4	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	458.8	453.4	1.01x	431.8 to 487.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.7	18.5	1.01x	13.6 to 25.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	137.4	143.2	0.96x	123.8 to 152.3	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	6.2	6.6	0.94x	3.5 to 10.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.5	13.9	0.9x	8.6 to 17.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	46.1	51.8	0.89x	38.5 to 55	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	24.2	30.2	0.8x	18.9 to 30.9	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.9	8.7	0.79x	4.1 to 11	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	9.6	13	0.74x	5.3 to 15.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	11.8	18.7	0.63x	8.1 to 16.8	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 Washington County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,785	9,842.6	-11%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.9	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	69.1	59.8	+16%	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	72.7	96.9	-25%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	17.6	28.6	-38%	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.

Formaldehyde22.18 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde1.7 per million
Ethylene Oxide0.85 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit70
Rail grade crossing38
Gas station (mapped facility)21
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)8
Public airport7
Small hazardous waste generator6
TRI reporting facility5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Hazardous waste transporter3
Major air pollution source2
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

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

Questspecialty Corp, Brenham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dichloromethane, 1-Bromopropane, Tetrachloroethylene, Trichloroethylene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 22,088 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77833CLNRS2001E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Valmont Industries Inc-, Brenham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Manganese, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 1,158 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77833VLMNTHWY29 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Questvapco Corporation, Brenham
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045562725 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Blue Bell Creameries - Brenham, Brenham
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $41,380.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057515531 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
Fxi Inc. - Brenham, Brenham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene diisocyanate (mixed isomers). Reports carcinogens. 109 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77833TXSFB1200R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Blue Bell Creameries Lp, Brenham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitric acid. 3,731 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77833BLBLL1101S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Valmont/Texas, Brenham
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000464355 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Texas Fibers, Brenham
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000504482 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.6
P I Components, Brenham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Cobalt, Chromium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 77833PCMPN350LO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Mic Group Llc - Brenham East, Brenham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 77833TRLTN314SB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Longwood Elastomers Inc, Brenham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Zinc compounds, Lead compounds. 61 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77833GTSML1GATE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.4
P I Components, Brenham
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005011147 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Questvapco Corporation, Brenham
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045562725 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Starlight Mobile Home Park Wwtp, Brenham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070357511 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Quarry Gas Plant, Somerville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038107054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Battle Horse Plant, Brenham
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070671367 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Brenham Dirt Yard, Brenham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071345763 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Mic Group Llc - Brenham West, Brenham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium.
TRI facility ID 77833MCGRP1801I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.1
Brenham Wwtp, Brenham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000760837 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Houston Unlimited Metal Processing, Chappell Hill
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034052209 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Home Depot Store 8518, Brenham
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $285,363.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022531081 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Questvapco Corporation, Brenham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045562725 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Blue Bell Creameries - Brenham, Brenham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $41,380.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057515531 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Lowes Of Brenham 2521, Brenham
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $141,730.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070246883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Battle Horse Plant, Brenham
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070671367 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5

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 Washington 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 Washington 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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