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Lewis County, Washington: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lewis County is 168 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Non-Hodgkin lymphoma deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 583 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (240), Rail grade crossing (174), Gas station (mapped facility) (60). 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: 46.5887, -122.3838.

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 Lewis County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	8.8	4.8	1.83xSignificant	6.5 to 11.8	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3.3	2	1.65x	1.9 to 5.3	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5.9	4.1	1.44x	4.1 to 8.2	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6.6	4.6	1.43x	4.6 to 9.3	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	5.3	3.7	1.43x	3.5 to 7.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	168	143.2	1.17xSignificant	157.7 to 178.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	34.6	30.2	1.15x	30.2 to 39.6	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	27	23.8	1.13x	22.6 to 32	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.7	11.3	1.12x	10.1 to 15.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.8	3.4	1.12x	2.4 to 5.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	53	51.8	1.02x	47.5 to 59.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19	18.7	1.02x	15.6 to 23.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.7	5.7	1x	3.9 to 8	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.1	4.4	0.93x	2.5 to 6.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.1	6.6	0.92x	4.4 to 8.4	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	11.9	13	0.92x	8.8 to 15.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.2	17.9	0.91x	12.9 to 20	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	403.1	453.4	0.89x	386.3 to 420.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.3	13.9	0.88x	9.7 to 15.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.7	14.5	0.88x	9.7 to 16.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.9	18.5	0.81x	11.8 to 18.6	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	4.9	6.2	0.79x	3.1 to 7.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.2	8.7	0.71x	4.4 to 8.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	4	6.6	0.61x	2.5 to 6	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 Lewis County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,176.6	9,842.6	-7%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.6	75.3	+0%	years
Child mortality	62.8	59.8	+5%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7	6.2	+13%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	97.3	96.9	+0%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	34.5	28.6	+21%	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.

Formaldehyde11.78 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.98 per million
Acetaldehyde1.77 per million
Naphthalene1.44 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 323 days: 295 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 20, peak 74.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit240
Rail grade crossing174
Gas station (mapped facility)60
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)18
Major air pollution source11
Small hazardous waste generator11
Public airport10
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)10
TRI reporting facility8
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)6
Large greenhouse gas emitter5
Hydroelectric plant4
Heliport3
EPA air quality monitor2
Commercial airport2
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Superfund (NPL) site2
Hazardous waste transporter1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Coal power 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.

Centralia Municipal Landfill, Centralia
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 36.4. NPL Site.
EPA site ID WAD980836662 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Hamilton/Labree Roads Ground Water Contamination, Chehalis
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 37.7. NPL Site.
EPA site ID WASFN1002174 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Centralia Steam Plant, Centralia
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490665 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.3
Cardinal Glass Winlock, Winlock
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025339621 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9
Transalta Centralia Generation / Mining, Centralia
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Hydrogen fluoride, Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Barium And Barium Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 524,231 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 98531CNTRL913BI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Centralia Sawmill Company, Centralia
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037607916 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Darigold Inc Chehalis, Chehalis
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $249,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490674 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Sierra Pacific Industries- Centralia, Centralia
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Lead compounds, Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds. Reports carcinogens. 31,458 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 98531SRRPC3115K (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Imperial Fabricating Co Chehalis, Chehalis
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020767570 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
National Frozen Foods Corp State St, Chehalis
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000574003 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Transalta Centralia Generation, Centralia
Coal power plant.
Record ID 3845 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6.7
Centralia Steam Plant, Centralia
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490665 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Hampton Lumber Mills Wa Inc Randle, Randle
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013963853 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Cardinal Glass Winlock, Winlock
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025339621 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Centralia Sawmill Company, Centralia
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037607916 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Walsh Trucking Co Ltd Morton, Morton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067188359 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Transalta Centralia Mine, Centralia
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070258852 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Cardinal Fg Co, Winlock
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 18,356 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9859WCRDNL545AV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Centralia Steam Plant, Centralia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000490665 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Hampton Lumber Mills Wa Inc Randle, Randle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013963853 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Stericycle Morton, Morton
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015487105 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Centralia City Wwtp, Centralia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022443079 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Cardinal Glass Winlock, Winlock
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025339621 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Centralia Sawmill Company, Centralia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037607916 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Chehalis City Public Works, Chehalis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054898982 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 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 Lewis 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 Lewis 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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