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Columbia County, Washington: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Columbia County is 171.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 73 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (43), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (12), Gas station (mapped facility) (5). 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: 46.3134, -117.9269.

How this county ranks in Washington

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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 Columbia County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	171.7	143.2	1.2x	130.6 to 225.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	330.6	453.4	0.73x	264.8 to 410.2	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 Columbia County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,104.8	9,842.6	-7%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.6	75.3	+2%	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	89.3	96.9	-8%	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.

Formaldehyde15.5 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.8 per million
Acetaldehyde2.01 per million
Naphthalene1.31 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 330 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 94.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing43
NPDES wastewater discharge permit12
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Wind power plant3
EPA air quality monitor2
Public airport2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Hydroelectric 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.

Dayton Stp, Dayton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015540413 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Curl Lake Acclimation Pond, Pomeroy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054998669 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Konen Rock Crushing Inc, Dayton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013674309 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Wa Dot Sc Region Qs-Co-16 Dayton, Dayton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015564058 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Little Goose Lock And Dam, Starbuck
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071223519 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Vernon Smith Bridge, Dayton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071512285 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Dayton Acclimation Pond, Dayton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071181051 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Amaruq Environmental Services, Unspecified
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071944363 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Little Goose Lock And Dam, Dayton
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006886520 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Little Goose Lock And Dam, Dayton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006886520 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Rock Hill Concrete Co Llc, Dayton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071178354 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Little Goose Lock And Dam, Starbuck
Public airport. O.
Record ID 16W (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Dayton Sewage Disposal Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1324477036 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Kellogg Hollow Road Phase Ii, Dayton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072173103 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Us 12 Whetstone Creek / Replace Bridge, Dayton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071179118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Little Goose, Dayton
Hydroelectric plant.
Record ID 3926 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 1.3
Deruwe Road, Starbuck
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 814016W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Starbuck
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 814017D (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Pvt Xing, Walla Walla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 097109K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1
Pvt Xing, Walla Walla
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 097110E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1
Konen Rock Crushing Inc 00112, Dayton
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110010405917 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Private, Dayton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 096976M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
Cottonwood St, Dayton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 096990H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
Willow St, Dayton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 096991P (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
Cherry St, Dayton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 096992W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1

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 Columbia County

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