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Wharton County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Wharton County is 149.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 2.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 238 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (98), Rail grade crossing (63), Major air pollution source (17). 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: 29.2981, -96.2214.

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 Wharton County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	7.5	3.4	2.21xSignificant	4.6 to 11.7	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	6.7	4.4	1.52x	3.7 to 11.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.4	8.7	1.31x	7.6 to 16.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.3	17.9	1.3x	17.8 to 30	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.1	11.3	1.16x	9.2 to 18.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.1	6.2	1.15x	3.9 to 11.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.5	14.5	1.14x	11.7 to 22.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.6	13.9	1.12x	11.3 to 21.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.6	18.5	1.06x	14.5 to 26	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	149.7	143.2	1.05x	135.4 to 165.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.4	6.6	0.97x	3.7 to 10.5	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	438.6	453.4	0.97x	413 to 465.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	27	30.2	0.89x	21.2 to 33.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	40.1	51.8	0.77x	33 to 48.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	15.8	23.8	0.66x	11.2 to 21.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	11.5	18.7	0.61x	7.8 to 16.5	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 Wharton County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,245	9,842.6	+14%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.7	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	67.5	59.8	+13%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.6	6.2	+7%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	86.9	96.9	-10%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	15.2	28.6	-47%	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.

Formaldehyde19.15 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde1.66 per million
Ethylene Oxide0.97 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit98
Rail grade crossing63
Major air pollution source17
Gas station (mapped facility)17
Public airport11
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Hazardous waste transporter5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Brownfield property2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
Gas power plant2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Solar power plant1
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.

Lamberti Usa Inc, Hungerford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Diethanolamine, Maleic anhydride, Naphthalene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,675 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 77448MDRLLPOBOX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Lamberti Usa Inc - Wharton Chemical Complex, Hungerford
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000599353 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Seatex - El Campo, El Campo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ethylene glycol, Nonylphenol Ethoxylates, Toluene and 1 more. 10,342 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7743WSTXLC112NB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Prasek'S Hillje Smokehouse, El Campo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $17,550.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016755117 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Boling Wwtp, Boling
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009779999 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Colorado Bend I Power, Wharton
Major air pollution source. Penalties $8,360.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028006217 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
City Of El Campo Wwtp 1, El Campo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064594960 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Halyard Wharton Energy Center, El Campo
Major air pollution source. Penalties $5,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070187943 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wharton Wwtp 1, Wharton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063222533 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Colorado Bend Ii, Wharton
Gas power plant.
Record ID 60122 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4.1
Colorado Bend I Power, Wharton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $8,360.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028006217 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Seatex Llc, El Campo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070244702 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hungerford Mud 1 Wwtp, Hungerford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009774716 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Wharton Chemical Complex, Hungerford
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054863769 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Colorado Bend Energy Center, Wharton
Gas power plant.
Record ID 56350 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.5
Leedo Manufacturing El Campo Plant, El Campo
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000462473 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Compressor Station 17, East Bernard
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001866507 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Alamo Concrete Products Plant 53, El Campo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006802059 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Transco Compressor Station 30, El Campo
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007201385 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Compressor Station 301 Wharton, Wharton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007201394 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Magnet Withers Station, Pierce
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033179227 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wharton Facility, El Campo
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033181651 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wilson Storage Station, Boling
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035297158 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Sweeny Compressor Station, Boling
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037856950 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wharton County Generation Facility, Boling
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045433875 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

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 Wharton 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 Wharton 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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