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Winneshiek County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Winneshiek County is 124.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 179 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (73), Air permit holder (minor source) (29), Industrial wastewater discharge (21). 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: 43.2855, -91.8427.

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 Winneshiek County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	Deaths	9.5	5.7	1.67x	5.4 to 16.3	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	36.6	23.8	1.54xSignificant	25.8 to 50.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.2	17.9	1.24x	14.9 to 32.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.3	14.5	1.12x	10.8 to 24.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	460.6	453.4	1.02x	424.4 to 499.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.5	18.5	1x	11.3 to 28.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.9	13.9	0.93x	7 to 22	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	124.4	143.2	0.87x	107 to 144.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	25.3	30.2	0.84x	17.9 to 35.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	37.9	51.8	0.73x	28.7 to 49.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	12.3	18.7	0.66x	7.2 to 20.2	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 Winneshiek County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	4,479.8	9,842.6	-54%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	81.8	75.3	+9%	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	60.2	96.9	-38%	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.

Formaldehyde14.01 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.28 per million
Benzene0.87 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing73
Air permit holder (minor source)29
Industrial wastewater discharge21
NPDES wastewater discharge permit14
Gas station (mapped facility)8
Small hazardous waste generator8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
TRI reporting facility5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Brownfield property3
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Battery storage plant1
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.

Infastech-Decorah Llc, Decorah
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Manganese, Nickel, Chromium and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,082 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52101DRLLT13011 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Gemini, Decorah
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021321746 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Decorah Operations Acument Global Technologies Camcar Llc, Decorah
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000789585 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Gemini-Decorah, Decorah
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper. 358 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52101GMNNC7700F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5
Rockwell Collins - Decorah Operations, Decorah
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 2 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 52101RCKWL2464R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Deco Products Company, Decorah
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001401518 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Rockwell International Corporation, Decorah
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002119902 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Iowa Rotocast Plastics, Decorah
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002119911 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ridgeway City Of Stp, Ridgeway
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010032552 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Walnut Creek Rng, Llc, Ridgeway
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071846442 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Decorah City Of Stp, Decorah
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002043379 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Former Rock Supply, Decorah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968057 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Wapsie Produce, Decorah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071969417 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Creamery, Decorah
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071969443 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Decorah Operations Acument Global Technologies Camcar Llc, Decorah
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000789585 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Iowa Rotocast Plastics Inc, Decorah
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates.
TRI facility ID 52101WRTCS1712M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Deco Products Co, Decorah
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper.
TRI facility ID 5210WDCPRD56SAN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Winneshiek Cnty Sanitary Landfill, Decorah
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005735026 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Ossian City Of Stp, Ossian
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0042781: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Ossian City Of Stp, Ossian
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010033622 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Turkey Valley Community School, Waucoma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011389023 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Fort Atkinson City Of Stp, Fort Atkinson
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0072176: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2
Decorah Muni, Decorah
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID DEH (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Turkey Valley Community School, Jackson Junction
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0067423: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.8
Calmar City Of Stp, Calmar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009723905 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

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 Winneshiek 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 Winneshiek 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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