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Cherokee County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cherokee County is 156.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 129 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (48), Air permit holder (minor source) (28), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (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: 42.742, -95.6239.

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 Cherokee 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	41.9	23.8	1.76xSignificant	27.8 to 61.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	518.9	453.4	1.14xSignificant	469.6 to 572.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	156.5	143.2	1.09x	131.3 to 185.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	31.7	30.2	1.05x	21.7 to 45.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.3	17.9	1.02x	9.7 to 31.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.5	18.5	1x	10.5 to 31.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	50.2	51.8	0.97x	37 to 67.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.2	18.7	0.92x	10.4 to 28.4	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 Cherokee County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,019.8	9,842.6	-29%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.9	75.3	+4%	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	95.2	96.9	-2%	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.

Formaldehyde13.53 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.13 per million
Benzene0.69 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing48
Air permit holder (minor source)28
NPDES wastewater discharge permit17
Industrial wastewater discharge14
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Wind power plant3
Major air pollution source2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
TRI reporting facility1
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.

Little Sioux Corn Processors Llc, Marcus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formic acid, Acrolein, n-Hexane, Acetaldehyde and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 214,592 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 51035LTTLS488FA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Little Sioux Corn Processors, Llc, Marcus
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036382018 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
Cherokee Wwtp, Cherokee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002040176 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Little Sioux Corn Processors, Llc, Marcus
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036382018 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Northern Natural Gas Co, Paullina
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002350081 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Little Sioux Corn Processors, Llc, Marcus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036382018 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Site Of Former Cookie'S Tap, Cherokee
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005759223 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Little Sioux Corn Processors, Llc, Marcus
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036382018 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Marcus City Of Stp, Marcus
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0036111: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Gcc-Cherokee N, Cherokee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds.
TRI facility ID 5101WGCCCH1853H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Quimby Wwtp, Quimby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010033775 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Marcus Wwtp, Marcus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010034523 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Cherokee County Rgnl, Cherokee
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID CKP (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/921619487 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Aurelia Wwtp, Aurelia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035363 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Larrabee Wwtp, Larrabee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039697307 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
City Of Cherokee, Cherokee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070002311 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Holzhauer Motors Ltd, Cherokee
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005750990 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cleghorn Wwtp, Cleghorn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010033668 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Meriden Wwtp, Meriden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010036772 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rtcp Farm Partnership (Spring, Sutherland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020832385 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Triple U North (Stowater), Marcus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025202769 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tentinger Feedlot, Cleghorn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027372634 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
West Fork Feedlot, Marcus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028273197 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Washta Wwtp, Washta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039698556 (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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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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