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Osceola County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Osceola County is 154.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 81 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (28), Air permit holder (minor source) (13), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (11). 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: 43.3781, -95.624.

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 Osceola County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	43.4	23.8	1.82xSignificant	24.7 to 71.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66.6	51.8	1.29x	45.8 to 95.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	534.4	453.4	1.18xSignificant	465.9 to 611	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	33.9	30.2	1.12x	19.7 to 56.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	154.7	143.2	1.08x	121.1 to 196.3	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 Osceola County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,291.8	9,842.6	-16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.8	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	106	96.9	+9%	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.

Formaldehyde13.23 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.07 per million
Benzene0.65 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing28
Air permit holder (minor source)13
NPDES wastewater discharge permit11
Industrial wastewater discharge9
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Wind power plant3
Small hazardous waste generator2
Oil-fired power plant2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)1
Wastewater plant (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.

Poet Biorefining - Ashton, Ashton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Formic acid, Methanol, Formaldehyde and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 25,646 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 51232TTRCR49726 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Poet Biorefining - Ashton Llc, Ashton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015723029 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Poet Biorefining - Ashton Llc, Ashton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015723029 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Poet Biorefining - Ashton Llc, Ashton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015723029 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Poet Biorefining - Ashton Llc, Ashton
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015723029 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Sibley One, Sibley
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1184 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Sibley No Two, Sibley
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 7060 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Otter Creek Ethanol Poet - Ashton, Ashton
Gas power plant.
Record ID 58138 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Sibley Cement Co., Sibley
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983090 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sibley City Of Stp, Sibley
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0032841: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Sibley City Of Stp, Sibley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035309 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Sibley Muni, Sibley
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ISB (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/828003966 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Ashton City Of Stp, Ashton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010036399 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Ocheyedan City Of Stp, Ocheyedan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036376953 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Harris City Of Stp, Harris
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010034480 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lorch Cattle Company, Ocheyedan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024400325 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Vander Lee Feedlot, Melvin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025201920 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
David And Dan Lorch Combined Operation, Harris
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025203143 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Zylstra Feedlot (At), Ashton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037672417 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Melvin City Of Stp, Melvin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043671675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
R P M Transport, Sibley
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045540321 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Paul Feldkamp, Sibley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067531512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Brightmark Rng Facility - Legacy, Sanborn
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071141644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
340th St, Bigelow
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 185755F (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 Osceola 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 Osceola 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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