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Jefferson County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Jefferson County is 137.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 118 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (32), Air permit holder (minor source) (26), Industrial wastewater discharge (13). 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: 41.0362, -91.9486.

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 Jefferson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25.1	17.9	1.4x	16 to 37.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	31.9	23.8	1.34x	21.2 to 46.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	18	14.5	1.24x	10.9 to 28.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	452.3	453.4	1x	411.9 to 496.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18	18.5	0.97x	11.1 to 28.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	137.2	143.2	0.96x	116.8 to 160.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	40.9	51.8	0.79x	29.9 to 55.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	13.3	18.7	0.71x	7.8 to 22.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	21.2	30.2	0.7x	13.8 to 32	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 Jefferson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,327	9,842.6	-5%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.1	75.3	+2%	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	76.4	96.9	-21%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	24.1	28.6	-16%	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.

Formaldehyde16.4 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.53 per million
Benzene1.13 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing32
Air permit holder (minor source)26
Industrial wastewater discharge13
NPDES wastewater discharge permit13
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Small hazardous waste generator4
Public airport3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Major air pollution source2
TRI reporting facility2
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
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.

Fairfield Coal Gasification Plant, Fairfield
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 38.1. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IAD981124167 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Dexter Laundry Inc, Fairfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Copper, Nickel, Chromium and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 4,928 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52556THDXT2211W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Hycast Llc, Fairfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Manganese, Chromium, Copper and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,862 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52556THDXT501NO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Hycast Foundry Llc, Fairfield
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000789488 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Fairfield City Of Stp, Fairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000731281 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Hycast Foundry Llc, Fairfield
Major air pollution source. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000789488 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Hycast Foundry Llc, Fairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000789488 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Dexter Laundry, Inc, Fairfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001763226 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Bovard Studio Inc, Fairfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 52556BVRDS2281H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Fairfield Water Treatment Plant, Fairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013102935 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Packwood Wwtp, Packwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039989554 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Hycast Foundry Llc, Fairfield
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000789488 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Fairfield Water Treatment Plant, Fairfield
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110013102935 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Anr Pipeline Co - Birmingham Compressor, Birmingham
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043797914 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Maharishi Vedic City - South, Fairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010029370 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Larry Wilson Property, Batavia
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038759670 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Pekin Community School District, Packwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036786902 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Anr Pipeline Co - Birmingham Compressor, Birmingham
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043797914 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Fairfield Business & It Park, Fairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010028184 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Cambridge Investment Research Inc., Fairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024400405 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Libertyville Wwtp, Libertyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039697370 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Fairfield Muni, Fairfield
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID FFL (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Batavia City Of Stp, Batavia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010032428 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Pleasant Plain City Of Stp (Russ), Brighton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042106985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Vision Ag Llc - Libertyville, Libertyville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000527582 (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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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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