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O'Brien County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in O'Brien County is 145.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 139 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (46), Air permit holder (minor source) (28), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (17). 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: 43.0839, -95.6242.

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 O'Brien County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	36.9	18.7	1.97xSignificant	25.5 to 52.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	42.8	23.8	1.8xSignificant	28.9 to 61	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.5	17.9	1.2x	12.8 to 34.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.6	14.5	1.14x	8.9 to 28.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	517.2	453.4	1.14xSignificant	469.3 to 568.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	57.6	51.8	1.11x	43.9 to 74.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.1	18.5	1.09x	11.5 to 32.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	32.4	30.2	1.07x	22.4 to 46	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	145.3	143.2	1.01x	122.4 to 171.7	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 O'Brien County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,489.4	9,842.6	-14%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.4	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	72.1	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.

Formaldehyde13.36 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.11 per million
Benzene0.66 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing46
Air permit holder (minor source)28
NPDES wastewater discharge permit17
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Industrial wastewater discharge10
Small hazardous waste generator5
TRI reporting facility4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Major air pollution source2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Wind power plant2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
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.

Valero Hartley Plant, Hartley
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Acrolein, Formic acid and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 115,526 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 51346VLRRN326VA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Ag Processing Inc, Sheldon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane. 1,328,862 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 51201GPRCS8042N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Agp-Sheldon, Sheldon
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018868126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Valero Renewable Fuels Co, Llc - Hartley, Hartley
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028258472 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Associated Milk Producers Inc, Sanborn
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000494224 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Sanborn Wwtp, Sanborn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039992130 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Associated Milk Producers Inc, Sanborn
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 20 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 51248SSCTD101W1 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4
Primghar, Primghar
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1177 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Kent Nutrition Group - Sheldon, Sheldon
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070551344 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Valero Renewable Fuels Co, Llc - Hartley, Hartley
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028258472 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Associated Milk Producers, Inc. - Sanborn, Sanborn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037478743 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Agp-Sheldon, Sheldon
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018868126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Valero Renewable Fuels Co, Llc - Hartley, Hartley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028258472 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Agp-Sheldon, Sheldon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018868126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Purina Animal Nutrition Llc - Sheldon, Sheldon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 51201LNDLK100WE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Sutherland City Of Stp, Sutherland
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0036129: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Primghar Municipal Light Plant, Primghar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001753996 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Valero Renewable Fuels Co, Llc - Hartley, Hartley
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028258472 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Agp-Sheldon, Sheldon
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018868126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Hartley Wwtp, Hartley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039691759 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Sutherland Stl, Sutherland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039698271 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Primghar Municipal Light Plant, Primghar
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001753996 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Paullina Muni, Paullina
Public airport. O.
Record ID 1Y9 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Sheldon Rgnl, Sheldon
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID SHL (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Sheldon Tree Dump
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1074045664 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2

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 O'Brien 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 O'Brien 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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