IA / county FIPS 19041 / county research

Clay County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Clay County is 114.5 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 (76), Air permit holder (minor source) (21), Industrial wastewater discharge (20). 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: 43.0613, -95.1509.

How this county ranks in Iowa

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Clay County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	New cases	28.6	14.5	1.97xSignificant	19.5 to 40.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	45	23.8	1.89xSignificant	32.1 to 61.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	28.4	18.5	1.54xSignificant	19.6 to 40.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	25.9	18.7	1.39x	17.6 to 37.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	17	13	1.31x	9.7 to 27.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	532.1	453.4	1.17xSignificant	489.7 to 577.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	55.4	51.8	1.07x	43.2 to 70.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	114.5	143.2	0.8x	96.8 to 134.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	22.5	30.2	0.75x	15.3 to 32.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	13	17.9	0.73x	7.4 to 21.9	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 Clay County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,924.2	9,842.6	-19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.4	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	74	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.

Formaldehyde13.59 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.13 per million
Benzene0.72 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

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 crossing76
Air permit holder (minor source)21
Industrial wastewater discharge20
NPDES wastewater discharge permit11
Small hazardous waste generator9
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Wind power plant2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
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.

Spencer, City Of, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009360609 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Corn Belt Power Cooperative, Spencer
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010507317 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Spencer, City Of, Spencer
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009360609 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Corn Belt Power Cooperative, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010507317 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Spencer Gas Turbine, Spencer
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1186 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Earl F Wisdom, Spencer
Gas power plant.
Record ID 1217 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.1
Spencer, City Of Stp, Spencer
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0021059: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Everly City Of Stp, Everly
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0028916: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Greenville, City Of Stp, Greenville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041951554 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Everly Wwtp, Everly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035372 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Peterson City Of Stp, Peterson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010034578 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Spencer Muni, Spencer
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID SPW (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID relation/3001184 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
H & N Chevrolet-Buick Company, Spencer
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005741509 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Don Pierson Ford Lincoln Mercury, Spencer
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005744098 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Asher Motor Company, Spencer
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005758108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Clay County Maintenance Shop, Spencer
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005768801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Demco Manufacturing Company - Spencer, Spencer
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005775786 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Royal Wwtp, Royal
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010034364 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Olson Farm, Inc, Dickens
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021024808 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Spencer Hospital, Spencer
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022724211 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Merrill Company The, Spencer
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028214545 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
City Of Spencer, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036296086 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Fostoria Wwtp, Fostoria
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039696834 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Webb, City Of Stp, Webb
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043834063 (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 Clay 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 Clay 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.

Scan an address in Clay County View on the heat map All Iowa counties