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Mills County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Mills County is 135.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 95 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (38), Air permit holder (minor source) (12), Industrial wastewater discharge (12). 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: 41.0311, -95.6219.

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 Mills County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	77.4	51.8	1.49xSignificant	61.2 to 97.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.1	17.9	1.12x	12 to 32	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	32.4	30.2	1.07x	22.2 to 46.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.6	18.5	1.06x	11.5 to 31.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	474.8	453.4	1.05x	431.4 to 521.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	135.7	143.2	0.95x	113.3 to 161.6	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	16	18.7	0.86x	9.5 to 26.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.1	23.8	0.72x	9.8 to 28.2	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 Mills County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,695.5	9,842.6	-1%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.4	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	67.7	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	71.7	96.9	-26%	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.

Formaldehyde16.07 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.38 per million
Benzene0.76 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing38
Air permit holder (minor source)12
Industrial wastewater discharge12
Gas station (mapped facility)11
NPDES wastewater discharge permit10
Small hazardous waste generator4
Major air pollution source3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Bunge N.A. (Opd West) Inc., Council Bluffs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane. 3,796,173 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 51503BNGCR19560 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Bunge North America, Inc - 19560 Bunge Ave, Council Bluffs
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018869250 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Concrete Supply, Council Bluffs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 774 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5150WCNCRT18411 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Loess Hills Sanitary Landfill, Malvern
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018868947 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Bunge North America, Inc - 19560 Bunge Ave, Council Bluffs
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018869250 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Natural Gas Pipeline Co Of America - Station 107, Emerson
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036351079 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gmu Wastewater Treatment Facility, Glenwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071710932 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gmu Wastewater Treatment Facility, Glenwood
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0021946: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Loess Hills Sanitary Landfill, Malvern
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018868947 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Emerson City Of Stp, Emerson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035906 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Malvern City Of Stp, Malvern
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010033043 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Loess Hills Sanitary Landfill, Malvern
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018868947 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Malvern City Of Stp, Malvern
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0058572: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.6
Viners Inc, Emerson
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005766260 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bunge North America, Inc - 19560 Bunge Ave, Council Bluffs
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018869250 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Henderson City Of Stp, Henderson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036385177 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Silver City, City Of Stp, Silver City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040608660 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mineola City Of Stp, Mineola
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041951607 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kiewit Infrastructure Co., Pacific Junction
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043625244 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hastings, City Of Stp, Hastings
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055366125 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gregory Feedlots, Inc. (South Site), Tabor
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064294115 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Glenwood Municipal Utilities, Glenwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070001926 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Boar'S Head Farm Management, Larose
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070928797 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ellison Ave, Pacific Jctn
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 073083S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Blank, Pacific Jctn
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 074361J (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 Mills 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 Mills 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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