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Buchanan County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Buchanan County is 164.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 128 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (43), Air permit holder (minor source) (21), Industrial wastewater discharge (17). 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: 42.476, -91.8451.

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 Buchanan County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	33	18.7	1.76xSignificant	23.9 to 44.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	77	51.8	1.49xSignificant	63.3 to 93	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	34.8	23.8	1.46xSignificant	24.5 to 47.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	20.8	14.5	1.43x	13.2 to 31.3	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	16.6	13	1.28x	10.1 to 25.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	36.4	30.2	1.21x	27.2 to 48.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	541.5	453.4	1.19xSignificant	501.7 to 583.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	164.2	143.2	1.15x	143.1 to 187.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.6	17.9	1.09x	12.7 to 29.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.6	18.5	1.01x	12.1 to 27.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.1	13.9	0.87x	6.8 to 20.1	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 Buchanan County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,283.6	9,842.6	-46%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79	75.3	+5%	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	73.3	96.9	-24%	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.

Formaldehyde14.45 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.34 per million
Benzene0.8 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing43
Air permit holder (minor source)21
Industrial wastewater discharge17
NPDES wastewater discharge permit16
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Major air pollution source3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
TRI reporting facility2
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Oil-fired power plant1
Scrapyard (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.

Poet Biorefining - Fairbank Llc, Fairbank
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, Methanol, Acrolein, Formic acid and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 142,997 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50629HWKYR12771 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Poet Biorefining Fairbank Llc, Fairbank
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024836668 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Bertch Cabinet Llc Legacy Div, Jesup
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers). 32,713 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50648BRTCH12301 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Wapsie Valley Creamery Back Up Generator, Independence
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000413801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Bertch Cabinet, Llc. - Legacy Division - Jesup, Jesup
Major air pollution source. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001756430 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Independence Wwtp, Independence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040009914 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Quasqueton City Of Stp, Quasqueton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010032794 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Poet Biorefining Fairbank Llc, Fairbank
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024836668 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Wapsie Valley Creamery Back Up Generator, Independence
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 59379 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Bertch Cabinet, Llc. - Legacy Division - Jesup, Jesup
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001756430 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Brandon Wwtp, Brandon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035826 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Jesup Wwtp, Jesup
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039985736 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Wapsie Valley Creamery Back Up Generator, Independence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000413801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Poet Biorefining Fairbank Llc, Fairbank
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024836668 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Iowa Engineered Processes, Independence
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027236453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wapsie Valley Creamery Back Up Generator, Independence
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000413801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Cono Ridge Haven, Walker
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009724879 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Poet Biorefining Fairbank Llc, Fairbank
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024836668 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Wapsie Valley Creamery Inc., Independence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid, Ammonia.
TRI facility ID 50664WPSVL30010 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Denton Castings Co Inc, Brandon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Aluminum (fume or dust), Copper compounds.
TRI facility ID 52210DNTNC102MA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Jesup, City Of Stp (South), Jesup
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0075302: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
Geater Machining And Manufacturing, Independence
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $12,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001388454 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Geater Machining And Manufacturing, Independence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001388454 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Rowley City Of Stp, Rowley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010033392 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Wapsie Valley Creamery, Inc., Independence
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0060607: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4

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 Buchanan 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 Buchanan 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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