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Boone County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Boone County is 171.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Leukemia deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 158 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (56), Air permit holder (minor source) (35), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (15). 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: 42.037, -93.9317.

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 Boone County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	Deaths	10	5.7	1.75xSignificant	5.9 to 16.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	28.3	17.9	1.58xSignificant	20.9 to 37.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	35.2	23.8	1.48xSignificant	26.6 to 46	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	26.2	18.7	1.4xSignificant	19.3 to 35	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39	30.2	1.29xSignificant	30.5 to 49.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66.4	51.8	1.28xSignificant	55.2 to 79.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	171.2	143.2	1.2xSignificant	152.5 to 191.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	511.5	453.4	1.13xSignificant	478 to 546.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.2	14.5	1.12x	10.6 to 23.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.9	18.5	1.08x	13.7 to 28.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.1	8.7	1.05x	5.1 to 15.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.3	13.9	1.03x	9.3 to 21.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.8	11.3	0.96x	6.5 to 17.3	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 Boone County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,965.7	9,842.6	-29%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.1	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	72.6	96.9	-25%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde15.5 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde1.34 per million
Benzene0.78 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing56
Air permit holder (minor source)35
NPDES wastewater discharge permit15
Industrial wastewater discharge12
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Small hazardous waste generator7
Scrapyard (mapped facility)4
Brownfield property3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Heliport2
Wind power plant2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Oil-fired power plant1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)1

Highest-severity records

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

Leviat, Boone
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Hexabromocyclododecane. Reports carcinogens. 24,774 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5003WCMPST1TECH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Besser Quinn Machine & Foundry, Boone
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021347327 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Central Iowa Ready Mix, Boone
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,114 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5003WCNTRL2143K (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Composite Technologies Corp, Boone
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005778694 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Besser Quinn Machine & Foundry, Boone
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 23 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5003WBSSRQ15181 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Central Iowa Ready Mix, Boone
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070232695 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Besser Quinn Machine & Foundry, Boone
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021347327 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Woodward Resource Center, Woodward
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022689955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Ogden, Ogden
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1169 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Northern Natural Gas Co - Ogden Compressor, Ogden
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001362230 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ogden City Of Stp, Ogden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009724370 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Besser Quinn Machine & Foundry, Boone
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110021347327 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
City Of Boone Water Pollution Control, Boone
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044358263 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Woodward Resource Center, Woodward
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110022689955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Northern Natural Gas Co - Ogden Compressor, Ogden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001362230 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Camp Hantesa Stp (Camp Fire), Boone
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006776630 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Johnson Building, Ogden
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968485 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Rattray Building, Ogden
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968486 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Miller'S 66, Ogden
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968690 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Northern Natural Gas Co - Ogden Compressor, Ogden
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001362230 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Dnr Ledges State Park, Madrid
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064236562 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Boone, City Of Wtp, Boone
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044750775 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Boone Cnty Sanitary Landfill, Boone
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013926528 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Madrid Wwtp, Madrid
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035835 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
City Of Boone Water Pollution Control, Boone
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110044358263 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2

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 Boone 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 Boone 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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