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Salt Lake County, Utah: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Salt Lake County is 118.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 4,043 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (2,940), Rail grade crossing (305), Brownfield property (232). 6 correctional facilities operate in the county. 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: 40.6676, -111.9031.

How this county ranks in Utah

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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 Salt Lake County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	40.5	23.8	1.7xSignificant	38.8 to 42.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	Deaths	0.7	0.5	1.4x	0.5 to 1	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.6	2	1.3xSignificant	2.2 to 3	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	16.8	13	1.29xSignificant	15.8 to 17.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7	6.2	1.13xSignificant	6.3 to 7.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.9	14.5	1.1xSignificant	14.9 to 17.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.1	5.7	1.07x	5.4 to 6.8	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	17.5	16.4	1.07x	15.3 to 20	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.4	18.5	1.05x	18.2 to 20.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.5	4.4	1.02x	4 to 5.1	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	Deaths	1.9	1.9	1x	1.2 to 2.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	422.7	453.4	0.93x	417.2 to 428.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.1	8.7	0.93x	7.4 to 8.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.2	11.3	0.9x	9.4 to 11.1	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	12.5	13.9	0.9x	11.5 to 13.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.8	6.6	0.88x	5.2 to 6.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.1	4.8	0.85x	3.5 to 4.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	2.9	3.4	0.85x	2.4 to 3.4	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.3	2.7	0.85x	1.9 to 2.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.2	17.9	0.85x	14.2 to 16.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.7	18.7	0.84x	14.6 to 16.8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.5	6.6	0.83x	4.9 to 6.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	118.6	143.2	0.83x	115.7 to 121.7	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.2	4.1	0.78x	2.7 to 3.8	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	3.3	4.6	0.72x	2.8 to 3.8	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	2.6	3.7	0.7x	2.2 to 3.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	27.6	51.8	0.53x	26.1 to 29	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	15.3	30.2	0.51x	14.3 to 16.4	2020-2024

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 Salt Lake County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,732.9	9,842.6	-32%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.6	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	49	59.8	-18%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.7	6.2	-9%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	74.6	96.9	-23%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	23.1	28.6	-19%	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.

Formaldehyde12.72 per million
Ethylene Oxide3.62 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.54 per million
Naphthalene1.99 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 121 good, 16 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 57, peak 175.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

4,043 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit2,940
Rail grade crossing305
Brownfield property232
Small hazardous waste generator177
Air permit holder (minor source)79
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)76
Large hazardous waste generator67
TRI reporting facility61
Hazardous waste transporter26
Heliport21
Major air pollution source16
EPA air quality monitor11
Correctional facility (prison or jail)6
Gas power plant6
Large greenhouse gas emitter5
Superfund (NPL) site4
Hydroelectric plant3
Commercial airport2
Biomass power plant2
Proposed Superfund site2
Other power plant1
Solar power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Wasatch Chemical Co. (Lot 6), Salt Lake City
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 49.9. NPL Site.
EPA site ID UTD000716399 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Utah Power & Light/American Barrel Co., Salt Lake City
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 37.9. NPL Site.
EPA site ID UTD980667240 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Portland Cement (Kiln Dust 2 & 3), Salt Lake City
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 54.4. NPL Site.
EPA site ID UTD980718670 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
700 South 1600 East PCE Plume, Salt Lake City
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID UTD981548985 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Kennecott Utah Copper Mine Concentrators & Power Plant, Bingham Canyon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds, Copper And Copper Compounds, Copper compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 845,496,290 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84006KNNCT12300 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Kennecott Utah Copper Smelter & Refinery, Magna
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper And Copper Compounds, Zinc compounds, Copper compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 115,309,090 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84006KNNCT8362W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Hexcel Corp, Salt Lake City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen cyanide, Ammonia, Dichloromethane, N,N-Dimethylformamide and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,570,305 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84044HRCLS6800W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Chevron Products Co - Salt Lake Refinery, Salt Lake City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Benzene, Propylene, n-Hexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,200,659 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84116CHVRN2351N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.2
Tesoro Refining & Marketing Company Llc - Slc, Salt Lake City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Hydrogen sulfide, Ammonia, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 567,944 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84103MCLCM474WE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Pioneer Metal Finishing, Llc, Salt Lake City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020824713 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.7
Thatcher Co, Salt Lake City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000469671 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.4
Midwestern Fabricators Inc, Salt Lake City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 101,200 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84104DLTFB1235S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
U.S. Army National Guard Camp Williams Ranges, Riverton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 93,368 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84065SRMYC178SR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Weir Mineral North America Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $888.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011782133 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Kennecott Utah Copper Corp. Smelter And Refinery, Magna
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $211,351.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009506347 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Kennecott (North Zone), Magna
Proposed Superfund site. Hazard Ranking System score 59.2. Proposed NPL Site.
EPA site ID UTD070926811 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 8
Murray Smelter, Murray City
Proposed Superfund site. Hazard Ranking System score 86.6. Proposed NPL Site.
EPA site ID UTD980951420 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 8
Varex Imaging Corp, Salt Lake City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Nitric acid, Mixture, Nickel and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 35,908 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84104VRNMC1678S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Dadi Bathware, Salt Lake City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 35,099 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8410WDDBTH176AS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Staker & Parson- California Avenue Facility, Salt Lake City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead. Reports carcinogens. 32,882 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84157STKRP3313W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Staker & Parson Cos Beck North Ready Mix & Asphalt, Salt Lake City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Mercury and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 29,871 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84116STKRP2080N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Steel Coatings Inc, Salt Lake City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Trichloroethylene. Reports carcinogens. 28,272 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84104STLCT410SO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Thatcher Co, Salt Lake City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ammonia, Nitric acid, Chlorine and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 16,945 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84127THTCH1905F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Reladyne West Llc, Midvale
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, n-Hexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 12,024 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8404WRLDYN8137S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp - Bacchus, Magna
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Nitroglycerin, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 11,141 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 84044HRCLS4950S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Utah State Prison, Draper
EPA FRS registry ID
110017786546
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
New State Correctional Facility, Salt Lake City
EPA FRS registry ID
110070706935
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report
Former Utah State Prison, Draper
EPA FRS registry ID
110071334319
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Utah State Correctional Facility, Salt Lake City
EPA FRS registry ID
110071381307
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Utah State Correctional Facility, Salt Lake City
EPA FRS registry ID
110071784554
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report
Utah Department Of Corrections, Salt Lake City
EPA FRS registry ID
110071911363
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Salt Lake County

Utah 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 Salt Lake County, and their findings.
Utah vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Utah health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Utah 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.
Utah 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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