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Webster County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Webster County is 161.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 414 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (145), Brownfield property (65), Air permit holder (minor source) (46). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 42.4261, -94.1645.

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 Webster County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	Deaths	8.1	5.7	1.42x	4.8 to 12.9	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5.8	4.1	1.41x	3.4 to 9.7	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	26.1	18.7	1.4xSignificant	20.3 to 33.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66.8	51.8	1.29xSignificant	57.1 to 77.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.8	14.5	1.23x	12.5 to 24.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	36.9	30.2	1.22x	30 to 45.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	161.3	143.2	1.13xSignificant	145.8 to 178.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.3	11.3	1.09x	8.3 to 17.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	484.4	453.4	1.07xSignificant	456.1 to 514.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.3	13.9	1.03x	10 to 20.1	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13	13	1x	8.3 to 19.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.4	17.9	0.97x	12.4 to 23.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.3	8.7	0.95x	5 to 13.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.8	23.8	0.92x	16 to 29	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.8	18.5	0.91x	11.8 to 23.2	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 Webster County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,249.5	9,842.6	+4%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.5	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	65.4	59.8	+9%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.3	6.2	+17%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	95.1	96.9	-2%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	18.2	28.6	-36%	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.

Formaldehyde14.58 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde1.26 per million
Benzene0.81 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 184 days: 109 good, 4 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 45, peak 165.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing145
Brownfield property65
Air permit holder (minor source)46
Industrial wastewater discharge40
NPDES wastewater discharge permit28
Small hazardous waste generator16
Gas station (mapped facility)15
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)15
TRI reporting facility13
Major air pollution source11
Large greenhouse gas emitter6
Large hazardous waste generator2
Oil-fired power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Gas power plant1
Wind power plant1
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.

Koch Fertilizer Ft. Dodge Llc, Duncombe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Methanol, Nitric acid and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,262,860 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50501FRMLNPOBOX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.5
Cargill Inc, Fort Dodge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Methanol, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 155,951 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5050WCRGLL195HA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Silgan Containers Manufacturing Corp, Fort Dodge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, Ethylbenzene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 109,574 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50501SLGNC3591M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Valero Renewable Fuels Llc, Fort Dodge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Acrolein, Acetaldehyde, Methanol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 108,567 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50501VRSNF193HA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Poet Biorefining-Gowrie Llc, Gowrie
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Acrolein, Methanol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 69,730 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50543PTBRF15623 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Precision Tank & Equipment Co., Humboldt
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 61,753 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5054WPRCSN15991 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Poet Biorefining - Gowrie, Gowrie
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031018565 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc - 5th St, Fort Dodge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000747149 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Day Park, Fort Dodge
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 191870013 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 6.9
Cargill, Inc. - Fort Dodge, Fort Dodge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055498527 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Koch Fertilizer Fort Dodge Llc, Duncombe
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010507861 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
Green County Redi-Mix, Fort Dodge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 405 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5050WHMLTN2123L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Valero Fort Dodge Ethanol, Fort Dodge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055566640 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Cj Bio America, Fort Dodge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid. 34,605 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5050WCJBMR1946H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Silgan Containers Mfg Corp - Fort Dodge, Fort Dodge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012460292 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Nestle Purina Petcare, Fort Dodge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001761451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc - 5th St, Fort Dodge
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000747149 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Cj Bio America, Fort Dodge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055951108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Certainteed Gypsum, Fort Dodge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 8 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5050WCRTNT219QU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Celotex Corp Gypsum Recycling-Ft Dodge, Fort Dodge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002442866 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
United States Gypsum Co - Fort Dodge, Fort Dodge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018866039 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Poet Biorefining - Gowrie, Gowrie
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031018565 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Fort Dodge Rgnl, Fort Dodge
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID FOD (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Ccm - Ft. Dodge South, Fort Dodge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 2 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50501MRCNC26QUA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Nestle Purina Petcare Co, Fort Dodge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds. 285 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50501FRSKS24005 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Fort Dodge Correctional Facility, Fort Dodge
EPA FRS registry ID
110001398880
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Webster 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 Webster 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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