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Howard County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Howard County is 170.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 60 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (16), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (12), Industrial wastewater discharge (9). 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: 43.3639, -92.3172.

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 Howard County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	New cases	25.6	14.5	1.77xSignificant	15.3 to 41.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	26.3	18.7	1.41x	16 to 42	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39.4	30.2	1.3x	25.9 to 58.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	541.7	453.4	1.19xSignificant	484.2 to 604.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	170.2	143.2	1.19x	140.4 to 205.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	50.8	51.8	0.98x	35.2 to 71.8	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 Howard County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,254.7	9,842.6	-36%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.7	75.3	+3%	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	79.5	96.9	-18%	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.

Formaldehyde13.91 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde1.19 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

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

Air permit holder (minor source)16
NPDES wastewater discharge permit12
Industrial wastewater discharge9
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Small hazardous waste generator3
Wind power plant2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
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.

Donaldson Co Inc, Cresco
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000414702 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Donaldson Co Inc, Cresco
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates, Ethylene glycol. 882 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52136DNLDS111DO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Iowa Contract Fabricators, Inc, Riceville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007503040 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Iowa Contract Fabricators Inc, Riceville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Propylene. 307 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50466WCNTR12150 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Culligan Water Conditioning Of Cresco, Cresco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010031526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Protivin Wwtp, Protivin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039698752 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Alliant Sbd 9206 Donaldson, Cresco
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 54718 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Lime Springs Wwtp, Lime Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040002886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Donaldson Co Inc, Cresco
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000414702 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Cresco Wwtp, Cresco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006621566 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Lime Springs Beef, Llc (Now Upper Iowa Beef, Llc), Lime Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060246835 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Donaldson Co Inc, Cresco
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000414702 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
114 2nd Avenue West, Cresco
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968423 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lime Springs Beef, Llc (Now Upper Iowa Beef, Llc), Lime Springs
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0052031: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Chester City Of Stp, Chester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010036834 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Elma Wwtp, Elma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010036424 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Ellen Church Fld, Cresco
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID CJJ (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Featherlite Mfg Inc-Cresco-Plant #2, Cresco
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000593750 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
H & S Motors, Cresco
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005766956 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Iowa Contract Fabricators, Inc, Riceville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007503040 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cresco Food Technologies Llc, Cresco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022403120 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Country Winds Manor, Inc. (Now Cwm Holdings, Llc), Cresco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045404291 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kenneth Moellers - Hayek Farm, Cresco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045518864 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
City Of Cresco, Cresco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070000851 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nlc Energy - Riceville, Riceville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070948643 (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 Howard 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 Howard 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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