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Black Hawk County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Black Hawk County is 152.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 772 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (242), Air permit holder (minor source) (126), Brownfield property (95). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 42.4762, -92.318.

How this county ranks in Iowa

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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 Black Hawk County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.7	3.4	1.38x	3.3 to 6.5	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	25.1	18.7	1.34xSignificant	21.8 to 28.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	68.7	51.8	1.33xSignificant	63.1 to 74.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.6	2	1.3x	1.5 to 4	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.2	4.8	1.29x	4.6 to 8.2	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.8	17.9	1.22xSignificant	18.5 to 25.6	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.6	4.6	1.22x	4.1 to 7.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.4	23.8	1.19xSignificant	24.6 to 32.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	35.4	30.2	1.17xSignificant	31.4 to 39.8	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	4.3	3.7	1.16x	3 to 6.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	521.6	453.4	1.15xSignificant	505.3 to 538.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.5	5.7	1.14x	4.8 to 8.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	16.2	14.5	1.12x	13.5 to 19.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.5	18.5	1.11x	17.4 to 24	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	152.8	143.2	1.07xSignificant	144.3 to 161.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.8	6.6	1.03x	5.1 to 8.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.1	13.9	1.01x	11.5 to 17.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.4	8.7	0.97x	6.5 to 10.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.9	6.2	0.95x	4.2 to 8.1	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	3.9	4.1	0.95x	2.7 to 5.5	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	12.1	13	0.93x	9.5 to 15.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.3	11.3	0.91x	8.1 to 12.8	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.9	6.6	0.89x	4.3 to 8	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	14.1	16.4	0.86x	8.2 to 22.6	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.7	4.4	0.84x	2.4 to 5.6	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 Black Hawk County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,992.7	9,842.6	-19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.7	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	47.4	59.8	-21%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.4	6.2	+3%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	70.7	96.9	-27%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	12.3	28.6	-57%	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.

Formaldehyde15.04 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.37 per million
Benzene1.04 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 195 good, 2 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 49, peak 158.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing242
Air permit holder (minor source)126
Brownfield property95
Gas station (mapped facility)70
Industrial wastewater discharge45
NPDES wastewater discharge permit45
Small hazardous waste generator30
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)22
TRI reporting facility19
Major air pollution source17
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)16
Large hazardous waste generator8
Large greenhouse gas emitter5
Public airport4
Heliport4
Gas power plant4
Scrapyard (mapped facility)4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Hazardous waste transporter2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Oil-fired power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Solar power plant1
Proposed Superfund 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.

Tyson Fresh Meats Inc Waterloo Iowa, Waterloo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Peracetic acid, Nickel, Chromium and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 299,517 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50704BPNCX501NE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
John Deere Waterloo Works Drivetrain Operations And Foundry, Waterloo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzene, Phenol, Naphthalene, Zinc compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 266,150 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50704JHNDR400WE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Masterbrand Cabinets Waterloo Operations, Waterloo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, n-Butyl alcohol, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 186,865 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50703BRTCH1205P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Bertch Cabinet Llc, Waterloo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Xylene (mixed isomers). Reports carcinogens. 109,286 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50702BRTCH4747C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Waterloo Coal Gasification Plant, Waterloo
Proposed Superfund site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. Proposed NPL Site.
EPA site ID IAD984566356 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 8
Advanced Heat Treat Corp., Waterloo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Trichloroethylene, Ammonia. Reports carcinogens. 17,543 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50703DVNCD2825M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
John Deere Waterloo Works Tcao, Waterloo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Manganese, n-Hexane, Zinc compounds and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 13,249 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50704JHNDR3500E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
John Deere Engine Works, Waterloo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Manganese, n-Hexane, Naphthalene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,704 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50704JHNDR3801W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Viking Pump Inc. - South Main Facility, Cedar Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Lead And Lead Compounds and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,699 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50613VKNGP711VI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Viking Pump Inc - South Main Facility, Cedar Falls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013313985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
O'Neal Manufacturing Services Dba Iowa Laser, Cedar Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 715 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5061WWLSRN71CHA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Waterloo Processing Llc, Waterloo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Formic acid, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). 61,093 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50703GLTNN4455R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
John Deere Waterloo Works Drivetrain Operations & Foundry, Waterloo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828186 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Bertch Cabinet, Llc. - Waterloo, Waterloo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000748371 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. - Waterloo, Ia., Waterloo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067426510 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Advanced Heat Treat Corporation - Midport, Waterloo
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $85,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011272960 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Masterbrand Cabinets, Inc., Waterloo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041094286 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Cedar Falls City Of Stp, Cedar Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001123212 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Waterloo Wwtp, Waterloo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001962840 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Eagle Ottawa Llc, Waterloo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000413883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Cedar Falls Utilities, Cedar Falls
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000593572 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Hydrite Chemical Co., Waterloo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Peracetic acid, Certain glycol ethers, Nitric acid and 4 more. 3,501 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50703HYDRT2815W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Viking Pump Inc-Alloys Foundry, Cedar Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 28 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50613VKNGL7THBL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Kent Nutrition Group Inc, Waterloo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Manganese compounds, Cobalt compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 14 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50703KNTFD2233W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Cedar Falls Utilities, Cedar Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000593572 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Waterloo Residential Correction Facility, Waterloo
EPA FRS registry ID
110006776685
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Black Hawk County

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