TX / county FIPS 48505 / county research

Zapata County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Zapata County is 136.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 38 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (21), Gas station (mapped facility) (5), Major air pollution source (2). 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: 26.948, -99.172.

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 Zapata County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.7	17.9	1.38x	14.3 to 39.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	136.2	143.2	0.95x	110.1 to 166.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	384	453.4	0.85x	338.6 to 433.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	24.7	30.2	0.82x	14.6 to 39.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	39.4	51.8	0.76x	26.1 to 57.2	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 Zapata County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,589.4	9,842.6	-3%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.7	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	58.3	96.9	-40%	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.

Formaldehyde19.02 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.84 per million
Acetaldehyde0.99 per million
Benzene0.64 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit21
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Major air pollution source2
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Wind power plant2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
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.

Zapata County Water Works Wwtp, Zapata
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $11,987.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009778151 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Fandango Production Facility, Zapata
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007193811 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Nopal Starr County Treating Facility, Zapata
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070520568 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Zapata County Chihuahua Wwtp, Zapata
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064592891 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Fandango Production Facility, Zapata
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007193811 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Zapata County, Zapata
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID APY (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Zapata County Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1250984778 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Hawk Ready Mix, Zapata
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009707380 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Anderson Columbia Asphalt Plant & Rock Crushing Plant #1, Laredo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041313405 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Zapata County, Zapata
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062410332 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Phr 003804054 Veleno Bridge, Zapata
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070187990 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Integrity Delaware-Zapata, Zapata
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070358309 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
King B Swd Facility, San Ygnacio
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070358500 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cc Forbes Marshall Zapata, San Ygnacio
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070366941 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Chihuahua Saltwater Disposal Facility, Zapata
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070370484 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Laredo Swd Facility, Zapata
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070377612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Santa Rosa Subdivision, Laredo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070686485 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Border To Border Tx6578 Fiber To The Home Phase I, Zapata
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071177546 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ett Tiempo 345kv Substation Project, San Ygnacio
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071280209 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
San Isidro Southwest Detetion Pond, Laredo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071311309 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Texas Department Of Transportation, Roma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071513141 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Texas Department Of Transportation, Zapata
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071513219 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
La Laja Pit, Zapata
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071656150 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Vela Pit, Zapata
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071707246 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lrt-3, San Ygnacio
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072176029 (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 Zapata 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 Zapata 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 Zapata County View on the heat map All Texas counties