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Washington County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Washington County is 145.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 158 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (50), Air permit holder (minor source) (35), Industrial wastewater discharge (20). 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: 41.3223, -91.7157.

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 Washington County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	New cases	24.2	14.5	1.67xSignificant	16.5 to 34.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	26	18.7	1.39xSignificant	18.8 to 35.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	25.5	18.5	1.38x	17.7 to 35.7	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	16.9	13	1.3x	10.4 to 26	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.4	17.9	1.25x	15.1 to 32.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	33.1	30.2	1.1x	25.1 to 43.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	495.6	453.4	1.09xSignificant	459.6 to 533.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.6	23.8	1.03x	16.6 to 35.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	145.1	143.2	1.01x	127.1 to 165.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	50.4	51.8	0.97x	39.8 to 63.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.5	13.9	0.97x	8.4 to 20.9	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 Washington County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,075.9	9,842.6	-38%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.5	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	46.2	59.8	-23%	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	74.7	96.9	-23%	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.

Formaldehyde15.73 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.5 per million
Benzene0.77 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing50
Air permit holder (minor source)35
Industrial wastewater discharge20
Gas station (mapped facility)16
NPDES wastewater discharge permit16
Small hazardous waste generator4
Major air pollution source3
Brownfield property3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
TRI reporting facility2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Ideal Ready Mix - Washington, Washington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 204 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5235WDLRDY127E4 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Iowa Renewable Energy Llc, Washington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 6,997 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52353WRNWB171E7 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
W2 Fuel Llc, Crawfordsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 1,958 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5262WWFLLL31873 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Iowa Renewable Energy Llc, Washington
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037144006 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Water'S Edge Subdivision - Wwtf, Washington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013741488 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Ideal Ready Mix - Washington, Washington
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071908897 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Ach Foam Technologies, Llc, Washington
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001330300 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Wellman City Of Stp, Wellman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035568 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Kalona City Of Stp, Kalona
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039690705 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Brighton City Of Stp, Brighton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071711383 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Crane Valves Fndry Sand Landfill-Wa Cnty, Washington
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000414891 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Washington City Of Stp, Washington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005734866 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Highland Community School, Riverside
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010030073 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ngpl Station 205, Keota
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018868386 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Lake Darling Youth Center Camp, Brighton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032810091 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Crawfordsville Wwtp, Crawfordsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039690812 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Linda Lou'S Diner, Washington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975925 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Mccleery Calendar Factory, Washington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975928 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Goncho Apartments, Washington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976903 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ainsworth City Of Stp, Ainsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009725066 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Riverside City Of Stp, Riverside
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010033061 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Linn Hollow Mobile Home Park, Washington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010030518 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Fansteel Washington Manufacturing, Washington
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $15,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010828809 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Vista Park Splash Pad, Kalona
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072001540 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Water'S Edge Subdivision - Wwtf, Washington
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit IA0077089: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4

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 Washington 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 Washington 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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