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Bremer County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Bremer County is 136.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 150 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (51), Air permit holder (minor source) (33), Industrial wastewater discharge (16). 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: 42.7789, -92.3181.

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 Bremer County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	45.6	23.8	1.92xSignificant	35.1 to 58.3	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	11.4	6.6	1.73x	6.6 to 18.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	31.1	18.5	1.68xSignificant	23.2 to 41.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	8.9	5.7	1.56x	5.1 to 14.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	18.8	14.5	1.3x	12.6 to 27.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.1	17.9	1.18x	14.4 to 30.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	506.9	453.4	1.12xSignificant	471.9 to 544	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.7	18.7	1.11x	14.7 to 28.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.6	13.9	1.05x	9.3 to 22	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.1	13	1.01x	7.3 to 21.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.2	11.3	0.99x	6.9 to 17.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	136.9	143.2	0.96x	119.8 to 156	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	39.7	51.8	0.77x	30.8 to 50.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	19.1	30.2	0.63x	13.3 to 26.9	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 Bremer County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,008.6	9,842.6	-39%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.7	75.3	+6%	years
Child mortality	41.2	59.8	-31%	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	53.3	96.9	-45%	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.

Formaldehyde14.32 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.29 per million
Benzene0.82 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 241 days: 210 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 38, peak 115.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing51
Air permit holder (minor source)33
Industrial wastewater discharge16
NPDES wastewater discharge permit14
Gas station (mapped facility)13
Small hazardous waste generator6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Oil-fired power plant3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Major air pollution source1
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Brownfield property1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Wind power plant1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Waverly Wwtp, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006621637 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Cmi Roadbuilding Inc., Waverly
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 50677KHRNG10612 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Waverly Municipal Electric North Plant, Waverly
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 6554 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
South Plant, Waverly
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 7758 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Sumner, Sumner
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1191 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Terex Usa, Llc, Waverly
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000413838 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
North Plant, Waverly
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001388445 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Waverly Yard Waste Site, Waverly
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040721591 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tripoli City Of Stp, Tripoli
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0033120: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Denver City Of Stp, Denver
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0044156: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Frederika City Of Stp, Frederika
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009724502 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Waverly Municipal Fire Department, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025336991 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Wartburg College, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025835755 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Tripoli City Of Stp, Tripoli
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010034925 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Iowa Regional Utilities Association, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024568626 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Readlyn Wwtp, Readlyn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039691278 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Life Line Emergency Vehicles, Inc, Sumner
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040469070 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Waverly Muni, Waverly
Public airport. O.
Record ID C25 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/526526164 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/543910943 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/546918107 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Sumner City Of Stp, Sumner
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010034649 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Iowa Regional Utilities Association, Waverly
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110024568626 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Plainfield City Of Stp, Plainfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039697780 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Rada Mfg Co, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001331247 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Bremer 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 Bremer 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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