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Poweshiek County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Poweshiek County is 141.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 183 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (78), Air permit holder (minor source) (36), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (15). 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: 41.6652, -92.5331.

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 Poweshiek 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	35.6	23.8	1.5xSignificant	25.2 to 49	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	16	11.3	1.42x	10.2 to 24.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38.2	30.2	1.26x	28.9 to 50	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	61.9	51.8	1.19x	49.6 to 76.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.3	13.9	1.1x	9.2 to 24.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	488.5	453.4	1.08x	449.5 to 530.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	141.1	143.2	0.99x	122.2 to 162.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.5	17.9	0.98x	10.7 to 27.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.3	14.5	0.92x	7.6 to 22	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.8	18.7	0.9x	10.9 to 25.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.8	18.5	0.8x	9 to 23.6	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 Poweshiek County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,567.8	9,842.6	-33%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.2	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	55.4	59.8	-7%	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	65.8	96.9	-32%	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.

Formaldehyde15.49 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.37 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

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

Rail grade crossing78
Air permit holder (minor source)36
NPDES wastewater discharge permit15
Gas station (mapped facility)14
Industrial wastewater discharge11
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Small hazardous waste generator5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Wind power plant3
TRI reporting facility3
Oil-fired power plant2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
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.

Basf, Malcom
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates, Ethylene glycol, Toluene diisocyanate (mixed isomers). Reports carcinogens. 354 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50157TWCNCSMAIN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Grinnell, City Of Stp, Grinnell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001123196 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Montezuma Manufacturing, Montezuma
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Copper, Nickel, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 8 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50171MNTZM300S8 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Thombert Inc., Brooklyn
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates. 341 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52211THMBR22IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Thombert Inc - Brooklyn, Brooklyn
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012711958 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Itwc, Malcom
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000593448 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Sutherland Printing Inc, Montezuma
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005765868 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Montezuma City Of Stp, Montezuma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071711034 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
East Iowa Bible Camp-Stp, Deep River
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010028460 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Montezuma, Montezuma
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1165 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Brooklyn, Brooklyn
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1128 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Jeld-Wen, Inc - Dba Doorcraft Of Iowa - Grinnell, Grinnell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043621854 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Pleasant Stay Inn & Suites, Brooklyn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015317682 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Montezuma, City Of Wtp, Montezuma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060358214 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Kwik Star #303, Brooklyn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010030938 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Pilot Travel Center #495, Brooklyn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020160831 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Rc Industries, Grinnell
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054190754 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Jeld-Wen Door Systems, Grinnell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates.
TRI facility ID 50112JLDWN82IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Grinnell, City Of Stp, Grinnell
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0031186: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Sutherland Printing Inc, Montezuma
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110005765868 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Brooklyn City Of Stp, Brooklyn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010036852 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Brooklyn City Of Stp, Brooklyn
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0020958: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Montezuma City Of Stp, Montezuma
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit IA0036935: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Searsboro City Of Stp, Searsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010032133 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Grinnell Rgnl, Grinnell
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID GGI (FAA / U.S. DOT)
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 Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek 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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