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Jefferson County, Washington: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Jefferson County is 127.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 91 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (55), Gas station (mapped facility) (11), Public airport (5). 2 correctional facilities operate in the county. 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: 47.8316, -123.6715.

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 Jefferson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	33.2	18.7	1.78xSignificant	26.9 to 41.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	33.6	23.8	1.41xSignificant	26.7 to 42.4	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.4	4.4	1.23x	3 to 9.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	469.5	453.4	1.04x	443.8 to 496.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19	18.5	1.03x	13.9 to 25.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.9	17.9	1x	12.7 to 25	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.5	4.8	0.94x	2.5 to 8.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	13.5	14.5	0.93x	9.4 to 19.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4.2	4.6	0.91x	2.6 to 8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6	6.6	0.91x	4 to 10.1	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	127.7	143.2	0.89x	115.8 to 141.1	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	12.1	13.9	0.87x	8.8 to 17.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.5	8.7	0.86x	5 to 11.9	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.5	6.6	0.83x	3.2 to 10	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.5	13	0.81x	5.8 to 17.8	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	4.9	6.2	0.79x	3.1 to 8.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	4.3	5.7	0.75x	2.6 to 8.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	39	51.8	0.75x	32.9 to 46.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	8	11.3	0.71x	5.5 to 12.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	18.9	30.2	0.63x	15.1 to 24.4	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 Jefferson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,179.8	9,842.6	-17%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	80.1	75.3	+6%	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	123.3	96.9	+27%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	27	28.6	-6%	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.

Formaldehyde11.54 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3.02 per million
Acetaldehyde1.62 per million
Naphthalene1.34 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 335 days: 326 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 20, peak 59.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit55
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Public airport5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Heliport4
Brownfield property2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Biomass power plant1
Hydroelectric plant1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)1
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.

Port Townsend Paper Corp, Port Townsend
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ammonia, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Hydrogen sulfide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,985,535 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 98368PRTTW100PA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Miles Sandg Shine Pit, Port Ludlow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040118832 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Navmag Indian Island, Port Hadlock
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042088674 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Fort Flagler State Park, Nordland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005358068 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Glacier Northwest Mats Mats Quarry, Port Ludlow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005400217 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Seton Construction Canyon Creek Qry, Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010904281 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Olympic Corrections Center, Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015439131 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Jefferson Cnty International Airport, Port Townsend
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015488836 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Port Townsend Wwtp, Port Townsend
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015539210 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Queets Village Wwtp, Queets
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017358009 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Jefferson Cnty Pw Quilcene Pit, Quilcene
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040118547 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
New Shine Quarry, Port Ludlow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045528559 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Winfield Surface Mine Dnr, Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054998963 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Port Ludlow Wastewater Treatment Plant, Port Ludlow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055007512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wa Dot Us 101 Steamboat Creek Rfb, Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071180249 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Madrona Ridge Ph 2 Lennar, Port Townsend
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071298397 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Us 101 Grader Unt To Pac Ocean Remove Fish Barriers (Site 4), Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071540517 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Chalaat Creek, Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071785167 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Navmag Indian Island, Port Hadlock
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042088674 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
San Juan Grocery, Port Townsend
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015410394 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Port Townsend Cemetery Site, Port Townsend
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071876670 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Olympic Corrections Center, Forks
Correctional facility (prison or jail).
EPA FRS registry ID 110015439131 (U.S. EPA ECHO + SDWIS) Agency record
Severity 3
Us 101 May Creek In Vic Of Dowans Creek Road - Remove Fish Barrier, Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071205301 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Coast Seafoods Company Quilcene, Quilcene
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071818246 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Olympic Discovery Trail Anderson Lake Connection, Port Townsend
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071866951 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3

Correctional facilities

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

Olympic Corrections Center, Forks
EPA FRS registry ID
110015439131
Wastewater permit
Yes, 12 quarters in noncompliance
EPA detailed facility report
Olympic Corrections Center Wellfield, Forks
EPA FRS registry ID
110070126777
Water system
WA5313560
Health-based violations
0 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
16
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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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