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Union County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Union County is 153.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 103 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (20), Air permit holder (minor source) (14), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (13). 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: 41.0223, -94.2427.

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 Union County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	42.9	30.2	1.42xSignificant	30.8 to 59	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	72.2	51.8	1.39xSignificant	55.9 to 92.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	25.2	18.7	1.35x	15.8 to 39	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.4	17.9	1.31x	13.2 to 38.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30.2	23.8	1.27x	18.3 to 47.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	511.5	453.4	1.13xSignificant	462.6 to 564.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	153.8	143.2	1.07x	128.7 to 183	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.3	18.5	1.04x	10.9 to 32.3	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 Union County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,895.7	9,842.6	-10%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.6	75.3	+0%	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	92.3	96.9	-5%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	30.5	28.6	+7%	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.

Formaldehyde15.28 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.31 per million
Benzene0.66 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge20
Air permit holder (minor source)14
NPDES wastewater discharge permit13
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Rail grade crossing12
Major air pollution source5
Small hazardous waste generator5
TRI reporting facility5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
Wind power plant1
Scrapyard (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.

New Cooperative Inc. - Afton, Afton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 3,438 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5083WNWCPR196EA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
White River Nutrition Llc, Creston
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane. 291,205 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50801CFPRC1310E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Central Iowa Ready Mix, Creston
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,759 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50801MRCNC56EMN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
New Cooperative Inc. - Creston Mill, Creston
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 1,346 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5080WFRMRS148EH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Wellman Dynamics, Creston
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Diisocyanates, Phenol, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) and 1 more. 85,826 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50801FNSTLUSROU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Zfs - Creston, Creston
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008058403 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Creston City Of Stp, Creston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039986423 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Wdc Acquisition Llc, Creston
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018868732 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Farmers Coop Co. - Afton Branch, Afton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000524291 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Green Valley Chemical Corp, Creston
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000413972 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Farmers Coop Co, Creston
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110036376659 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
American Concrete Products, Creston
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020518787 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Green Valley Chemical Corp, Creston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000413972 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Zfs - Creston, Creston
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008058403 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Central Iowa Power Coop - Summit Lake, Creston
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018867993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wdc Acquisition Llc, Creston
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018868732 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Orient Energy Center, Creston
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072198057 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Summit Lake, Creston
Gas power plant.
Record ID 1206 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.1
Wdc Acquisition Llc, Creston
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018868732 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Wdc Acquisition Llc, Creston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018868732 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Creston City Of Stp, Creston
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0035238: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Sirwa Water Treatment Plant, Creston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071528457 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Arispe City Of Stp, Arispe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012696635 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Central Iowa Power Coop - Summit Lake, Creston
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018867993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Cromwell, City-Stp -Sirwa, Creston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012696617 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3

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 Union 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 Union 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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