IA / county FIPS 19079 / county research

Hamilton County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Hamilton County is 123.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 172 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (81), Air permit holder (minor source) (23), 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: 42.3797, -93.6974.

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 Hamilton County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	26.5	17.9	1.48x	16.6 to 40.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	59.6	51.8	1.15x	46.2 to 76.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25.4	23.8	1.07x	16 to 38.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.5	13.9	1.04x	8.1 to 24.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	468.9	453.4	1.03x	426.2 to 514.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	30.5	30.2	1.01x	21.3 to 43	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18	18.5	0.97x	10.8 to 28.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.5	18.7	0.94x	10.4 to 28.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	123.9	143.2	0.87x	104.4 to 146.6	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 Hamilton County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,954	9,842.6	-19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.2	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	67.8	59.8	+13%	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	90.4	96.9	-7%	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 Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde1.25 per million
Benzene0.7 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing81
Air permit holder (minor source)23
Industrial wastewater discharge20
NPDES wastewater discharge permit15
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Major air pollution source4
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Large hazardous waste generator2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Gas power plant1
Oil-fired power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Van Diest Supply Co, Webster City
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $215,629.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069992088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Van Diest Supply Co, Webster City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Atrazine, 2,4-D 2-ethylhexyl ester, Pendimethalin and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 134,875 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50595VNDSTOLDHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Poet Biorefining, Jewell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Cyclohexane, Toluene, Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 91,973 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50130PTBRF26132 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Poet Biorefining - Jewell Llc, Jewell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031001305 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Van Diest Supply Co, Webster City
Major air pollution source. Penalties $215,629.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069992088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Agroliquid - Williams, Williams
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 2,965 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5027WGRLQD252VA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Van Diest Supply Co, Webster City
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $215,629.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069992088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Van Diest Supply Co, Webster City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $215,629.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069992088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Agroliquid - Williams, Williams
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070055348 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Webster City Wwtp, Webster City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039998580 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Industrial Container Services Llc, Webster City
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070244953 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Poet Biorefining - Jewell Llc, Jewell
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031001305 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Webster City, Webster City
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1198 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Poet Biorefining - Jewell Llc, Jewell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031001305 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Tasler, Inc - Eps, Webster City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005767820 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Webster City Combustion Turbine, Webster City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009363606 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Poet Biorefining - Jewell Llc, Jewell
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031001305 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Poet Biorefining - Jewell, Jewell
Gas power plant.
Record ID 63826 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Jewell City Of Stp, Jewell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010036371 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Williams Truck Stop, Williams
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071711400 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Fusion Manufacturing Llc, Ellsworth
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072086784 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Stanhope Wwtp, Stanhope
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035256 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Agstate, Llc / Ellsworth, Ellsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007254023 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Ellsworth Wwtp, Ellsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040010341 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Flying J No. 572, Williams
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005765136 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3

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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton County View on the heat map All Iowa counties