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Shelby County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Shelby County is 143.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 96 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (40), Air permit holder (minor source) (16), Industrial wastewater discharge (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: 41.678, -95.3254.

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 Shelby 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	32.4	23.8	1.36x	20.1 to 49.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	18.6	14.5	1.28x	9.9 to 32.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.5	17.9	1.26x	12.2 to 38.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	60.9	51.8	1.18x	45.8 to 80.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.1	18.5	1.09x	10.5 to 35.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	468.2	453.4	1.03x	421.7 to 519	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	31.1	30.2	1.03x	20.8 to 45.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	143.2	143.2	1x	119 to 171.5	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 Shelby County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,814.5	9,842.6	-31%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.3	75.3	+4%	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	58.7	96.9	-39%	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.

Formaldehyde14.37 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.2 per million
Benzene0.64 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing40
Air permit holder (minor source)16
Industrial wastewater discharge15
NPDES wastewater discharge permit14
Gas station (mapped facility)2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
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.

Essentia Protein Solutions, Harlan
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070049856 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Essentia Protein Solutions, Harlan
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid. 50 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5153WSSNTP1347H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.3
Harlan, Harlan
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1146 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Jacobs Corp-North & South Plants, Harlan
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027375427 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Harlan City Of Stp, Harlan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006621600 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Elk Horn City Of Stp, Elk Horn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035737 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Cpm Acquisition Corp, Harlan
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium.
TRI facility ID 51537JCBSC251S1 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Earling City Of Stp, Earling
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035979 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Harlan City Of Stp, Harlan
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0021342: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Country Care Center Corporation, Harlan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010031090 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Shelby City Of Stp, Shelby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036386256 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Harlan Municipal Utilities Water Treatment Plant, Harlan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059703940 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Defiance City Of Stp, Defiance
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010033677 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Earling City Of Stp, Earling
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0025364: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.1
Dnr Prairie Rose State Park, Harlan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012321521 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Harlan Muni, Harlan
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID HNR (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Panama City Of Stp, Panama
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009725262 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Portsmouth City Of Stp, Portsmouth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010029307 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Irwin City Of Stp, Irwin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010036870 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Regional Water-Treatment Plant #1, Avoca
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013741497 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Schechinger Farms, Inc., Harlan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024582995 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
City Of Harlan, Harlan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070001275 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Brightmark Rng Facility - Kirkman, Kirkman
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071141650 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
County Road, Defiance
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 378127K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1
County Road, Defiance
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 378128S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.1

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 Shelby 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 Shelby 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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