WY / county FIPS 56037 / county research

Sweetwater County, Wyoming: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Sweetwater County is 155.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 451 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (108), Air permit holder (minor source) (86), Rail grade crossing (78). 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: 41.6177, -108.9888.

How this county ranks in Wyoming

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Sweetwater County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	155.4	143.2	1.09x	138.9 to 173.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	30	30.2	0.99x	23.2 to 38.2	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	18.3	18.7	0.98x	13.1 to 25	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.8	11.3	0.96x	6.9 to 16.2	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.5	23.8	0.9x	15.7 to 28.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.8	13.9	0.85x	7.7 to 17.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	360.9	453.4	0.8x	336.3 to 386.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14.1	17.9	0.79x	9.5 to 20.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.7	8.7	0.77x	3.7 to 11.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	9.5	13	0.73x	5.9 to 14.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	37.3	51.8	0.72x	29.7 to 46.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	12.4	18.5	0.67x	8.2 to 18.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	8.8	14.5	0.61x	5.3 to 13.8	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 Sweetwater County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,209.6	9,842.6	+4%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.6	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	61.7	59.8	+3%	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	108	96.9	+11%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	31	28.6	+9%	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.

Formaldehyde9.78 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.44 per million
Benzene1.1 per million
Acetaldehyde0.76 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 266 good, 8 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 44, peak 118.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit108
Air permit holder (minor source)86
Rail grade crossing78
Gas station (mapped facility)36
Small hazardous waste generator36
EPA air quality monitor30
Major air pollution source19
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)10
Hazardous waste transporter8
TRI reporting facility7
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
Large greenhouse gas emitter6
Large hazardous waste generator4
Brownfield property3
Coal power plant3
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Other power plant1
Solar 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.

Jim Bridger, Point Of Rocks
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $12,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007899970 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Simplot Phosphates Llc, Rock Springs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen fluoride, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Zinc compounds, Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 10,488,602 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 82901CHVRN525SH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.9
Pacificorp Jim Bridger Plant & Bridger Coal Co, Point Of Rocks
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Barium And Barium Compounds, Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Manganese And Manganese Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,647,989 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 82942JMBRD9MILE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.7
Vermillion Gas Plant, Rock Springs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Benzene and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 57,353 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8290WVRMLLSE4SE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Jim Bridger, Point Of Rocks
Coal power plant.
Record ID 8066 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 8
Jim Bridger, Point Of Rocks
Major air pollution source. Penalties $12,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007899970 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Big Island Mine & Refinery (Sisecam Wyoming Llc), Sweetwater County
Major air pollution source. Penalties $34,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007900129 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Blacks Fork Gas Plant, Granger
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, n-Hexane, Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,729 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8293WBLCKS17962 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Granger Gas Plant, Granger
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Benzene, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,512 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8293WGRNGRNRTHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Jim Bridger, Point Of Rocks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007899970 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Simplot Phosphates - Phosphate Fertilizer Plant, Rock Springs
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000600369 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Black Butte Coal Co, Point Of Rocks
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol, Lead, Mercury. Reports carcinogens. 410 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8294WBLCKBPBX98 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Jim Bridger, Point Of Rocks
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $12,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007899970 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
General Chemical, Green River
Major air pollution source. Penalties $95,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007899756 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Genesis Alkali, Green River
Coal power plant.
Record ID 57915 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6
General Chemical, Green River
Coal power plant.
Record ID 54318 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6
Harvest Vermillion Gas Plant, Rock Springs
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000906930 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Fmc Wyoming Corporation - Green River Wyoming Facility, Green River
Major air pollution source. Penalties $15,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000709644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
P4 Production Llc, Rock Springs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds, Mercury And Mercury Compounds, Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 32 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 82902MNSNTQUEAL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Blacks Fork Gas Plant, Granger
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000729196 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Southwest Wyoming Rgnl, Rock Springs
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID RKS (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Green River Sodium Products Plant (Church & Dwight Inc), Sweetwater County
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002136313 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Church & Dwight Co Inc, Green River
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,3,4,6,7,8-Hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta[g]-2-benzopyran. 203 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 82935CHRCH325AL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.8
Solvay Soda Ash Joint Venture, Green River
Major air pollution source. Penalties $12,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007899248 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Lewis & Lewis Inc Asphalt Paving, Rock Springs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 8290WLWSLW37ABL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.7

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 Sweetwater County

Wyoming 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 Sweetwater County, and their findings.
Wyoming vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Wyoming health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Wyoming 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.
Wyoming 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.

Scan an address in Sweetwater County View on the heat map All Wyoming counties