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Plymouth County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Plymouth County is 130.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 278 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (162), Air permit holder (minor source) (28), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (24). 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: 42.7354, -96.2466.

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 Plymouth 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	47.7	23.8	2xSignificant	37.2 to 60.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	28.6	18.5	1.55xSignificant	20.8 to 38.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	26	17.9	1.45xSignificant	18.8 to 35.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	24.8	18.7	1.33x	18 to 33.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	16.5	13.9	1.19x	11.1 to 24	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	523.5	453.4	1.15xSignificant	488.3 to 560.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	34	30.2	1.13x	26.1 to 43.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.6	11.3	1.12x	7.9 to 19.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	15.9	14.5	1.1x	10.2 to 23.9	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.4	13	1.03x	7.7 to 21.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	130.9	143.2	0.91x	114.6 to 149.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	46.9	51.8	0.91x	37.3 to 58.5	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 Plymouth County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,447.2	9,842.6	-34%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79	75.3	+5%	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	64.7	96.9	-33%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	13.1	28.6	-54%	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.

Formaldehyde14.17 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.18 per million
Benzene0.69 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing162
Air permit holder (minor source)28
NPDES wastewater discharge permit24
Industrial wastewater discharge17
Gas station (mapped facility)15
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Small hazardous waste generator6
TRI reporting facility6
Brownfield property5
Major air pollution source2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
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.

Highway 3 PCE, Le Mars
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 34.8. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IAN000706042 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Plymouth Energy Llc, Merrill
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Methanol, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 56,285 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5103WPLYMT22234 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Plymouth Energy Llc, Merrill
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040470399 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Wells Enterprises Inc South Ice Cream Plant, Le Mars
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid. 30,005 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 51031WLLSD11911 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
South Ice Cream Plant, Le Mars
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000414034 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Smithco Manufacturing Incorporated, Le Mars
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $236,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007358652 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Wells Enterprises Inc North Ice Cream Plant, Le Mars
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001398899 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Smithco Manufacturing Incorporated, Le Mars
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $236,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007358652 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Dfa Dairy Brands Fluid , Llc Dba Kemps, Le Mars
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064137820 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Plymouth Energy Llc, Merrill
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040470399 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Smithco Manufacturing Co, Le Mars
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Lead, Chromium, Manganese and 1 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 51031SMTHC30902 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Wells Enterprises Inc Engineering Center, Le Mars
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Nickel And Nickel Compounds. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 51031WLLSD1ROCK (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Dfa Dairy Brands Fluid Llc Dba Kemps Le Mars, Le Mars
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 25 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 51031WLLSD12THL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.1
Wells' Dairy, Inc - 1698 18th St Sw, Le Mars
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016705485 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Westfield City Of Stp, Westfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039691508 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Gcc - Le Marss, Le Mars
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060259027 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Prairie Sun Foods, Llc., Merrill
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037594902 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Le Mars City Of Stp, Le Mars
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039988494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Plymouth Energy Llc, Merrill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040470399 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Nustar Pipeline Op Partnership Lp - Le Mars, Le Mars
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064053321 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
1201 Hawkeye Avenue Sw, Le Mars
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072250479 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
15 2nd Street Ne, Le Mars
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072250529 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
401 5th Avenue Sw, Le Mars
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072252584 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
345 5th Avenue Nw, Le Mars
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072252585 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
431 5th Avenue Sw, Le Mars
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072252586 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 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 Plymouth 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 Plymouth 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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