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Yakima County, Washington: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Yakima County is 154.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,119 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (513), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (242), Gas station (mapped facility) (116). 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: 46.564, -120.6483.

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 Yakima County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	20.9	16.4	1.27x	16.1 to 26.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.3	6.6	1.26xSignificant	6.8 to 9.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.1	3.4	1.21x	3.1 to 5.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.7	4.8	1.19x	4.5 to 7.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.1	4.4	1.16x	3.9 to 6.5	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.8	6.2	1.1x	5.4 to 8.5	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4	3.7	1.08x	3 to 5.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	154.5	143.2	1.08xSignificant	147.9 to 161.3	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.9	2.7	1.07x	2 to 4	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.1	5.7	1.07x	4.9 to 7.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.1	8.7	1.05x	7.5 to 10.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.2	11.3	0.99x	9.5 to 13.1	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	18.4	18.7	0.98x	16.1 to 20.8	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4	4.1	0.98x	3 to 5.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18	18.5	0.97x	15.7 to 20.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.9	14.5	0.96x	12 to 16.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.8	30.2	0.95x	26 to 31.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	12.6	13.9	0.91x	10.8 to 14.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	410.4	453.4	0.91x	399.5 to 421.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.9	17.9	0.89x	13.8 to 18.2	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4	4.6	0.87x	3 to 5.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	42.9	51.8	0.83x	39.5 to 46.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.4	6.6	0.82x	4.2 to 6.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.6	13	0.82x	8.8 to 12.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.5	23.8	0.74x	15.3 to 20	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.4	2	0.7x	0.8 to 2.1	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 Yakima County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,200.8	9,842.6	+4%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75	75.3	-0%	years
Child mortality	50.4	59.8	-16%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.5	6.2	-28%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	92.2	96.9	-5%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	32.9	28.6	+15%	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.

Formaldehyde14.03 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde1.74 per million
Naphthalene1.66 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 226 good, 3 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 41, peak 154.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,119 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Rail grade crossing513
NPDES wastewater discharge permit242
Gas station (mapped facility)116
Air permit holder (minor source)74
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)51
Small hazardous waste generator28
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)15
Public airport11
Major air pollution source10
TRI reporting facility10
Large hazardous waste generator7
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)7
Hydroelectric plant6
EPA air quality monitor5
Heliport5
Brownfield property4
Landfill (mapped facility)4
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Commercial airport1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

FMC Corp. (Yakima), Yakima
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 38.8. NPL Site.
EPA site ID WAD000643577 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Wa Army Natl Guard Mobil Training Equip, Yakima
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001855653 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.1
Mcclarin Plastics, Llc, Wapato
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $80,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020518028 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.1
Mcclarin Plastics Llc, Wapato
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 515,937 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 98951MTCHC18EJN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Yakima Training Center- Range, Yakima
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead, Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 310,238 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9890WYKMTR97FIR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Tree Top Inc Selah, Selah
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015678916 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Tree Top Inc - Selah Sprayfield, Selah
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 256,246 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 98942TRTPN1500H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Darigold Sunnyside, Sunnyside
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000491281 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Ferndale Grain Granger, Granger
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024942829 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Pace International Llc, Wapato
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005404641 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Washington Beef - Toppenish Plant, Toppenish
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $282,895.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000576430 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Mcclarin Plastics, Llc, Wapato
Major air pollution source. Penalties $80,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020518028 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Ultra Yield Micronutrients, Moxee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. 10,575 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 98936BYZNC301WC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Wa Army Natl Guard Mobil Training Equip, Yakima
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001855653 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Yakima Regional Wastewater Facility, Yakima
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009513160 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Wapato Wwtp, Wapato
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009763461 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Sunnyside Stp, Sunnyside
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009764950 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Grandview Wastewater Treatment Plant, Grandview
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010685561 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Mcclarin Plastics, Llc, Wapato
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $80,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020518028 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
YAKIMA - 4TH AVE, Yakima
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 530770009 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5.6
Kronos Micronutrients, Moxee
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000491254 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Zirkle Fruit Co Harrison Plant, Selah
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000550449 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Washington Fruit Moxee, Moxee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,280.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000568500 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Roy Farms Inc, Moxee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015399219 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Dandh Properties Yakima Llc, Yakima
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $194,302.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015497899 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5

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 Yakima 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 Yakima 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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