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Kittitas County, Washington: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Kittitas County is 153.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Bladder deaths at 2.1 times the U.S. rate and Leukemia deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 267 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (107), Rail grade crossing (47), Gas station (mapped facility) (36). 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: 47.1678, -120.6626.

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 Kittitas County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	Deaths	8.5	4.1	2.07xSignificant	5.3 to 13.1	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	9.8	5.7	1.72xSignificant	6.4 to 14.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	8	4.8	1.67xSignificant	5 to 12.2	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	27.3	18.7	1.46xSignificant	21.4 to 34.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.1	6.6	1.23x	5.2 to 12.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.3	6.2	1.18x	4.2 to 11.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.1	14.5	1.11x	11.6 to 22	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	153.2	143.2	1.07x	138.9 to 168.6	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.9	23.8	1.05x	19 to 32.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.6	17.9	1.04x	13.4 to 25.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.6	18.5	1.01x	13.7 to 24.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.2	11.3	0.99x	7.6 to 15.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.2	30.2	0.93x	22.5 to 35.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	399.9	453.4	0.88x	376 to 425.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.5	13.9	0.83x	7.9 to 16.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	39.4	51.8	0.76x	32.5 to 47.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.4	8.7	0.74x	3.8 to 10.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	7.9	13	0.61x	4.5 to 12.9	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 Kittitas County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,849.2	9,842.6	-41%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.8	75.3	+6%	years
Child mortality	44.7	59.8	-25%	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	64.6	96.9	-33%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	19.3	28.6	-33%	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.

Formaldehyde11.45 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.82 per million
Acetaldehyde1.25 per million
Naphthalene0.66 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 292 good, 3 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 25, peak 114.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit107
Rail grade crossing47
Gas station (mapped facility)36
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)27
Brownfield property21
Public airport7
Wind power plant4
Scrapyard (mapped facility)4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
EPA air quality monitor2
Commercial airport2
Heliport2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Hydroelectric 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.

Central Washington University Ellensburg, Ellensburg
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015526037 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Twin City Foods Ellensburg, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000549023 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ward Rugh Inc, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005312223 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Cle Elum Research And Supplementation, Cle Elum
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010909044 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Central Washington University Ellensburg, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015526037 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
B And G Service, Cle Elum
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015548905 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
J And J Auto Wrecking, Cle Elum
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015552481 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ronald Sand And Gravel Evergreen Pit, Ronald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015552659 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Gibson Waste Wood Recycle, Cle Elum
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036132146 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Anderson Hay And Grain Inc, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037059054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Calaway Trading Inc, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037545172 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Cle Elum Wwtp, Cle Elum
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039923161 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ellensburg City Msw, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040117502 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ellensburg Cement Ivan Hutchinson, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040118397 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Gerrys Foreign Auto Parts Kittitas, Kittitas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040126397 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Central Cascade Land Co Inc, Cle Elum
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040163480 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
A & A Auto Wrecking Ellensburg, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054898367 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
R And R Heights Site Maintenance, Roslyn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054900158 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Black Horse At Whiskey Creek, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054900256 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Rio'S Metals, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054924677 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Newport Hills Land Co, Ronald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054927424 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Rlic Ellensburg, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054958881 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Iron Horse Brewery Inc, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056952597 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wa Dot Qs S 234, Ellensburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040111214 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Lavinal Inc, Cle Elum
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040114961 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3

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 Kittitas 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 Kittitas 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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