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Willacy County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Willacy County is 137.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Liver & bile duct deaths at 2.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 97 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (43), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (26), Wind power plant (6). 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: 26.4592, -97.6867.

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 Willacy County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	14.8	6.6	2.24xSignificant	8.6 to 24	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	18.8	8.7	2.16xSignificant	11.4 to 29.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.3	17.9	1.36x	15.6 to 36.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.4	18.5	0.99x	11.2 to 28.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	137.8	143.2	0.96x	116.4 to 161.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	376.2	453.4	0.83x	339.9 to 415.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	14.8	30.2	0.49x	8.6 to 24	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	24.3	51.8	0.47x	16 to 35.7	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 Willacy County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,566.5	9,842.6	+18%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.9	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	85	59.8	+42%	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	53.6	96.9	-45%	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.

Formaldehyde17.32 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde1.15 per million
Benzene0.49 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing43
NPDES wastewater discharge permit26
Wind power plant6
Public airport5
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Major air pollution source3
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Small hazardous waste generator2

Highest-severity records

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

City Of Raymondville Wwtp, Raymondville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $48,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001880322 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Sebastian Mud Wwtf, Sebastian
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $15,938.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009773085 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
El Terco Shrimp Farm, Raymondville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070229324 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Kenaf 2 Treating Plant, Lasara
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015633420 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Tordilla Compression Station, Raymondville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021155113 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kenaf North, Lasara
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028718074 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
City Of Lyford Wwtp, Lyford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009776741 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Charles R Johnson, Port Mansfield
Public airport. O.
Record ID T05 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1389676035 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1413809383 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/71504228 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/71504407 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Pt Mansfield Pud Wwtf, Raymondville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006687095 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Murphy Usa 7261, Raymondville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028213984 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
City Of Raymondville Wtp, Raymondville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070230651 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Mobil Mptm Port Mansfield Warehouse, Port Mansfield
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008141297 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gateway Chevrolet Inc, Raymondville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008149413 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
La Sara Wwtp, Willacy County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009772950 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lasara Reverse Osmosis Wwtp, Lasara
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012293990 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
El Terco Shrimp Farm, Lasara
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063612005 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Grupo Chapa Quiroga, Raymondville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070375404 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
City Of Raymondville Street Repair & Paving Improvements Ph2, Raymondville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070620360 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Raymond Wind Farm O&M Building, Lyford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070685712 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cdbg - Wilacy County - Drainage Improvements, Sebastian
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070869095 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Txdot Phr Csj 0861-01-068, Lyford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071335953 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Willacy 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 Willacy 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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