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Pocahontas County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Pocahontas County is 161.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 130 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (73), Air permit holder (minor source) (22), Industrial wastewater discharge (10). 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: 42.734, -94.6785.

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 Pocahontas 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	39.9	23.8	1.68x	21.3 to 68	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	26.3	18.7	1.41x	14.7 to 45.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41	30.2	1.36x	26.1 to 63.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	68.7	51.8	1.33x	49.7 to 94.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	591	453.4	1.3xSignificant	522.2 to 667.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	161.7	143.2	1.13x	129.7 to 200.5	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 Pocahontas County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,324	9,842.6	-5%	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	73.3	96.9	-24%	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.

Formaldehyde13.52 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde1.15 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

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

Rail grade crossing73
Air permit holder (minor source)22
Industrial wastewater discharge10
NPDES wastewater discharge permit8
Small hazardous waste generator4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Oil-fired power plant2
Wind power plant2
TRI reporting facility2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Gas station (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.

Brandfx Llc, Pocahontas
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 92,555 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50574BRNDF21215 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Hydraulic Technologies Inc. Iowa Division, Pocahontas
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005736855 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Varina, City Of Wtp, Fonda
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064833970 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Pengo Corp, Laurens
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 5055WPNGCR5EHIG (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Fisher, Laurens
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Chromium, Zinc compounds, Manganese. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 50554GLDST603HW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Laurens, Laurens
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1157 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
West Diesel Generation Unit, Pocahontas
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 56517 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Fisher Gold Star Div Fisher Hydraulics, Laurens
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007358670 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Pocahontas City Of Stp, Pocahontas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010034774 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hydraulic Technologies Inc. Iowa Division, Pocahontas
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005736855 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Former Max Page Bulk Plant, Rolfe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038751767 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Laurens City Of Stp -City Clerk, Laurens
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009723852 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Rolfe City Of Stp, Rolfe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035078 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Fonda City Of Stp, Fonda
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0046671: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Bobalee Hydraulics, Inc, Laurens
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $53,068.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013693039 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Laurens City Of Stp -City Clerk, Laurens
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110009723852 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Bobalee Hydraulics, Inc, Laurens
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $53,068.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013693039 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Wells Ag Enterprises, Fonda
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $7,677.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038271438 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Palmer, City Of Stp, Palmer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064294552 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Pocahontas Muni, Pocahontas
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID POH (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Fonda City Of Stp, Fonda
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039690661 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Pocahontas County, Pocahontas
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005735295 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hydraulic Technologies Inc. Iowa Division, Pocahontas
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005736855 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Fisher Gold Star Div Fisher Hydraulics, Laurens
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007358670 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gilmore City, City Of Stp, Gilmore City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009723763 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Pocahontas 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 Pocahontas 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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