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Tama County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Tama County is 166.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 124 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (27), Industrial wastewater discharge (23), Air permit holder (minor source) (22). 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: 42.0862, -92.5329.

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 Tama County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	New cases	22	14.5	1.52x	14.3 to 32.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	27.3	18.5	1.48xSignificant	18.6 to 39.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	24.6	18.7	1.32x	16.8 to 35.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	543.5	453.4	1.2xSignificant	500.1 to 589.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.9	17.9	1.17x	13 to 32.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	166.5	143.2	1.16xSignificant	143.6 to 192.3	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25.7	23.8	1.08x	16.8 to 37.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	32.6	30.2	1.08x	23.5 to 44.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	53.4	51.8	1.03x	41.4 to 68.2	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 Tama County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,872	9,842.6	-20%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.7	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	62.8	96.9	-35%	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.

Formaldehyde14.85 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.33 per million
Benzene0.73 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing27
Industrial wastewater discharge23
Air permit holder (minor source)22
NPDES wastewater discharge permit21
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)8
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Public airport3
Oil-fired power plant3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Small hazardous waste generator2
TRI reporting facility2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
Wind 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.

Iowa Quality Beef, Tama
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000414873 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Tama City Of Stp, Tama
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006645862 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Bituminous Materials & Supply Lp, Tama
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Nonylphenol Ethoxylates, Styrene, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52339BTMNS3380L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.8
Tama Paperboard, Tama
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52339PCKGNSSIEG (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.8
Iowa Premium, Llc, Tama
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Peracetic acid, Nitric acid. 78 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52339TMMTPHWY30 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Bituminous Material & Supply Lp, Tama
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001754726 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Gladbrook City Of Stp, Gladbrook
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035942 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Traer East, Tracer
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 56025 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Traer Main, Traer
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1192 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Traer South, Traer
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 7920 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Toledo Wastewater Treatment Facility, Toledo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042330876 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tama Paperboard, Llc, Tama
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000731236 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Traer Municipal Water Plant, Traer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001397774 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Dysart City Of Stp, Dysart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010036763 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Sac And Fox Settlement Lagoon, Tama
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011273040 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Montour City Of Stp, Montour
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043869267 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Meskwaki Settlement, Tama
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039687176 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Iowa Quality Beef, Tama
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000414873 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Traer Municipal Water Plant, Traer
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001397774 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Chelsea City Of Stp, Chelsea
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010029405 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Gladbrook City Of Stp, Gladbrook
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0025330: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Pilgrim Heights Retreat Center-Stp, Montour
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011272988 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Tama City Of Stp, Tama
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0043681: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Traer Municipal Utilities, Traer
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit IA0035033: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Iowa Quality Beef, Tama
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000414873 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5

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 Tama 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 Tama 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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