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Cowlitz County, Washington: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cowlitz County is 183.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 2.2 times the U.S. rate and Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 551 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (215), Rail grade crossing (107), Gas station (mapped facility) (71). 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: 46.1179, -122.6137.

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 Cowlitz County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	4.4	2	2.2xSignificant	3 to 6.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.8	3.4	1.71xSignificant	4.2 to 7.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	44.1	30.2	1.46xSignificant	39.5 to 49.1	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5.8	4.1	1.41xSignificant	4.2 to 7.8	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	5	3.7	1.35x	3.6 to 6.9	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.9	4.4	1.34x	4.2 to 8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	183.3	143.2	1.28xSignificant	173.8 to 193.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7.2	5.7	1.26x	5.4 to 9.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.9	6.6	1.2x	6.1 to 10.1	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.5	4.6	1.2x	4 to 7.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	59.9	51.8	1.16xSignificant	54.6 to 65.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.4	4.8	1.13x	3.9 to 7.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.3	11.3	1.09x	9.9 to 15.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.3	8.7	1.07x	7.3 to 11.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.2	14.5	1.05x	12.5 to 18.4	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.3	6.2	1.02x	4.5 to 8.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.5	13.9	0.97x	10.9 to 16.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	22.8	23.8	0.96x	19.3 to 26.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.1	18.7	0.91x	14.3 to 20.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	410.1	453.4	0.9x	395.3 to 425.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.1	17.9	0.9x	13.3 to 19.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.4	18.5	0.89x	13.5 to 19.7	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11	13	0.85x	8.5 to 14.2	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	4.8	6.6	0.73x	3.4 to 6.7	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 Cowlitz County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,700.9	9,842.6	-1%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.1	75.3	-0%	years
Child mortality	49.4	59.8	-17%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.3	6.2	+1%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	88	96.9	-9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	29.3	28.6	+2%	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.

Formaldehyde13.85 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.98 per million
Naphthalene2.35 per million
Acetaldehyde2.24 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 250 days: 226 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 22, peak 72.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit215
Rail grade crossing107
Gas station (mapped facility)71
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)42
Small hazardous waste generator19
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)18
TRI reporting facility17
Air permit holder (minor source)11
Major air pollution source10
Large hazardous waste generator10
Large greenhouse gas emitter7
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)6
Brownfield property3
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Heliport2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Biomass power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
Airfield1
Commercial airport1
Hydroelectric plant1
Gas 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.

Longview Fibre Paper And Packaging, Inc, Longview
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490852 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Nippon Dynawave Packaging Longview Wa, Longview
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $16,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490898 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Emerald Kalama Chemical Llc, Kalama
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490816 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Westrock Longview Llc, Longview
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Ammonia, Hydrogen sulfide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,102,289 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 98632LNGVWSOUTH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.6
North Pacific Paper Company Llc, Longview
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $70,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069632632 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.5
Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., Longview
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Methanol, Ammonia, Manganese And Manganese Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,068,441 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 98632WYRHS3401I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.5
North Pacific Paper Co Llc Longview, Longview
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Phenol, Acetaldehyde, Hydrogen sulfide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,550,010 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9863WNRTHP31IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Lanxess Corp Kalama Site, Kalama
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Benzene, Methanol, Biphenyl and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 136,219 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 98625KLMCH1296N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Foster Farms Kelso, Kelso
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490834 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.4
Solvay Chemicals Inc, Longview
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490870 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.9
Flexible Foam Products Inc, Longview
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012559891 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.8
Steelscape Inc, Kalama
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490790 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.7
Equa Chlor Llc Longview, Longview
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022931666 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
Skyline Steel Llc, Longview
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055500248 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
Emerald Kalama Chemical Llc, Kalama
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490816 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Longview Fibre Paper And Packaging, Inc, Longview
Major air pollution source. Penalties $9,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490852 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Steelscape, Kalama
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, n-Butyl alcohol, Certain glycol ethers and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,275 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 98625BHPCT222WE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Solvay Chemicals Inc, Longview
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Naphthalene, Nitric acid. Reports carcinogens. 2,210 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 98632NTRXM3500I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Emerald Kalama Chemical Llc, Kalama
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490816 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Emerald Kalama Chemical Llc, Kalama
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490816 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Longview Fibre Paper And Packaging, Inc, Longview
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490852 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Nippon Dynawave Packaging Longview Wa, Longview
Major air pollution source. Penalties $16,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490898 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Glacier Northwest Inc Longview, Longview
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005395303 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Interfor Longview Lumber Mill, Longview
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035437462 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Westlake Us 2 Llc - Longview, Longview
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Chlorine. 49,130 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 98632QCHLR3541I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6

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 Cowlitz 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 Cowlitz 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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