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Dubuque County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Dubuque County is 142.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 508 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (117), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (63), Industrial wastewater discharge (61). 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: 42.4864, -90.8953.

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 Dubuque 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	48.5	23.8	2.04xSignificant	42.7 to 54.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.9	2	1.45x	1.8 to 4.7	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6	4.6	1.3x	4.2 to 8.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	22.6	18.7	1.21xSignificant	19.2 to 26.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	22.2	18.5	1.2xSignificant	18.7 to 26.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	14.7	13	1.13x	11.3 to 18.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	505.7	453.4	1.12xSignificant	487.7 to 524.2	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.1	3.7	1.11x	2.7 to 6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.7	13.9	1.06x	11.9 to 18.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.5	6.2	1.05x	4.4 to 9.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.5	17.9	1.03x	15.3 to 22.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	53.5	51.8	1.03x	48.2 to 59.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.4	3.4	1x	2.1 to 5.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	142.3	143.2	0.99x	133.4 to 151.8	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.3	4.4	0.98x	2.8 to 6.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	10.8	11.3	0.96x	8.5 to 13.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.2	6.6	0.94x	4.5 to 8.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.5	4.8	0.94x	3 to 6.5	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.8	4.1	0.93x	2.5 to 5.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	27.9	30.2	0.92x	24.2 to 32.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.1	5.7	0.89x	3.6 to 7.2	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.6	8.7	0.87x	5.6 to 10	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.6	14.5	0.87x	10 to 15.8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.1	6.6	0.77x	3.5 to 7.2	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 Dubuque County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,844.2	9,842.6	-30%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.7	75.3	+5%	years
Child mortality	44.8	59.8	-25%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	3.5	6.2	-44%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	67.5	96.9	-30%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	14.2	28.6	-50%	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 Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.49 per million
Benzene1.01 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)117
NPDES wastewater discharge permit63
Industrial wastewater discharge61
Rail grade crossing57
Gas station (mapped facility)52
Brownfield property47
Small hazardous waste generator26
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)21
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)16
TRI reporting facility15
Major air pollution source5
Hazardous waste transporter4
Oil-fired power plant4
Large hazardous waste generator3
Heliport3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Solar power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

Peoples Natural Gas Co., Dubuque
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 46.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IAD980852578 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
John Deere Dubuque Works, Dubuque
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Butyl alcohol, Methanol, Manganese, Naphthalene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 44,651 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52004JHNDRHWY38 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
John Deere Dubuque Works, Dubuque
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045323020 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
Bp Products Na Inc Dubuque Terminal, Peosta
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers), Toluene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 11,288 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52068BPPRD15393 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Ay Mcdonald Manufacturing Co, Dubuque
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead And Lead Compounds, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 8,986 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52001YMCDN4800C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Modernfold Inc., Dyersville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Copper and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,326 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52040MDRNF5125T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Eagle Window & Door Inc, Dubuque
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Xylene (mixed isomers), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene. 58,105 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52004GLWND1111P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
A Y Mcdonald Mfg Co - Dubuque Facility, Dubuque
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000414597 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Morrison Brothers Co, Dubuque
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 197 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52001MRRSN24THA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Western Dubuque Biodiesel Llc, Farley
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 11,401 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52046WSTRN94JAM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Dubuque City Of Stp, Dubuque
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $7,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036285926 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Eagel Window & Door Inc., Dubuque
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067041436 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Giese Manufacturing, Dubuque
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 33 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5200WGSMNF725CH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Western Dubuque Biodiesel Llc, Farley
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032650058 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Knapp Mobile Home Park Stp, Dubuque
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010029478 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Bp - Dubuque Terminal, Peosta
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037143873 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
North End Mobile Home Park-Treatment Plant, Dubuque
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006777005 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
John Deere Dubuque Works, Dubuque
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045323020 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Dubuque Rgnl, Dubuque
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID DBQ (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend Llc Dubuque, Dubuque
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Lead, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52004KCHMT12THS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.8
John Deere Dubuque Works, Dubuque
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045323020 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
John Deere Dubuque Works, Dubuque
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045323020 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Morrison Brothers Company, Dubuque
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000605827 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.6
Cascade Municipal Utilities Wwtp, Cascade
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001398737 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Camso Manufacturing Ltd, Peosta
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070260478 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5

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 Dubuque 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 Dubuque 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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