AK / county FIPS 02188 / county research

Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Northwest Arctic Borough is 177.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 175 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (72), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (39), Commercial airport (13). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 8 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: 66.8655, -157.9624.

How this county ranks in Alaska

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 Northwest Arctic Borough compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	177.3	143.2	1.24x	128.7 to 237.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	368.6	453.4	0.81x	298.3 to 449.6	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 Northwest Arctic Borough
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	19,917.5	9,842.6	+102%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	67.8	75.3	-10%	years
Child mortality	201.5	59.8	+237%	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	242.6	96.9	+150%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 8 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde3.71 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3.23 per million
Benzene0.84 per million
Acetaldehyde0.38 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge72
NPDES wastewater discharge permit39
Commercial airport13
Air permit holder (minor source)10
Brownfield property8
Oil-fired power plant8
Landfill (mapped facility)7
Public airport5
Major air pollution source3
Hazardous waste transporter3
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Large hazardous waste generator1

Highest-severity records

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

Red Dog Mine, Kivalina
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $1,185,143.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000601705 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Red Dog Operations, Kotzebue
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,298,914,931 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 99752RDDGP90MIL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Red Dog Mine, Kivalina
Major air pollution source. Penalties $1,185,143.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000601705 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Crowley Kotzebue Bulk Fuel Facility, Kotzebue
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzene, Toluene, n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,323 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 9975WCRWLY943RD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Red Dog Mine, Kivalina
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $1,185,143.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000601705 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Red Dog Mine, Kivalina
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,185,143.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000601705 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Dmts Red Dog Port Facility, Kivalina
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002465779 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Dmts Red Dog Port Facility, Kivalina
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002465779 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Crowley Marine Services-Kotzebue, Kotzebue
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070518708 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Red Dog, Red Dog
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID DGG (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Ralph Wien Meml, Kotzebue
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID OTZ (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Buckland Sewage Lagoon, Buckland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043272785 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Selawik Sewage Lagoon, Selawik
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044879496 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Noatak Sewage Lagoons, Noatak
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054629675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Nordlum Glacier Creek Mine Site, Deering
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064415976 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Green Candle Creek Mine Site, Deering
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064416047 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Kanik Creek Quarry, Buckland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070815469 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ryan Air Inc Kotzebue Hub, Kotzebue
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071080833 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Vial Kiwalik River Mine Site, Deering
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071095456 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Deering Sewage Lagoon, Deering
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030482886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Noorvik Wastewater Facility, Noorvik
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037096040 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Shungnak Sewage Lagoon, Shungnak
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056343595 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Kiana Gravel Pit, Kiana
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070833301 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Kisimgiugtuq School Wastewater Treatment Facility, Kivalina
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071365818 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Kotzebue Hybrid, Kotzebue
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 6304 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4

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 Northwest Arctic Borough

Alaska 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 Northwest Arctic Borough, and their findings.
Alaska vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Alaska health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Alaska 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.
Alaska 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 Northwest Arctic Borough View on the heat map All Alaska counties