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Lucas County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lucas County is 181.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 72 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (37), Industrial wastewater discharge (8), Air permit holder (minor source) (7). 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: 41.0391, -93.3276.

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 Lucas County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	32.6	17.9	1.82xSignificant	18.3 to 53.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	25.7	18.5	1.39x	15.2 to 42.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	40.8	30.2	1.35x	26.4 to 61.3	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	181.8	143.2	1.27xSignificant	150.2 to 219	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	61.1	51.8	1.18x	44.2 to 83.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	494.9	453.4	1.09x	437.7 to 558.1	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 Lucas County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,105	9,842.6	-7%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76	75.3	+1%	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	106.6	96.9	+10%	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.

Formaldehyde16.17 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde1.44 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

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

Rail grade crossing37
Industrial wastewater discharge8
Air permit holder (minor source)7
NPDES wastewater discharge permit7
Gas station (mapped facility)2
Small hazardous waste generator2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

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

Ideal Ready Mix - Chariton, Chariton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 227 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5004WDLRDY24634 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Ideal Ready Mix - Chariton, Chariton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071908899 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Chariton City Of Stp, Chariton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002040014 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Johnson Machine Works Inc, Chariton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Lead, Chromium, Manganese and 1 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 5004WJHNSN318NE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Russell City Of Stp, Russell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071710634 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Johnson Machine Works Inc, Chariton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007358643 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Napa Auto Parts, Chariton
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005748101 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Russell City Of Stp, Russell
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit IA0043176: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Chariton City Of Stp, Chariton
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0028924: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
Lucas City Of Stp (Rathbun Regional Water Association), Lucas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010029334 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Derby City Of Stp, Derby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036374660 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Chariton Muni, Chariton
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID CNC (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Williamson City Of (Rathbun Regional Water Assn), Williamson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011272522 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Hy-Vee Distribution Center, Chariton
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001361357 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
City Of Chariton, Chariton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005757877 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Chariton Municipal Waterworks, Chariton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013095934 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Johnson Machine Works Inc, Chariton
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015910870 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Co Rd, Lucas
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 079091E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Co Rd, Lucas
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 079092L (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
120th Ave, Lucas
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 079093T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Co Rd, Lucas
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 079094A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
160th Ave, Lucas
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 079099J (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
County Road H30, Chariton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 079101H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Curtis Ave, Chariton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 079103W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Auburn Ave, Chariton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 079104D (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3

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 Lucas 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 Lucas 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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