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Worth County, Iowa: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Worth County is 141.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 145 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (76), Air permit holder (minor source) (20), Industrial wastewater discharge (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: 43.3684, -93.2609.

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 Worth County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	48	23.8	2.02xSignificant	28.9 to 75.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	60.9	51.8	1.18x	41.7 to 87.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	500.3	453.4	1.1x	440.4 to 566.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	141.2	143.2	0.99x	112.2 to 176.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.3	30.2	0.94x	16.4 to 47.3	2020-2024

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 Worth County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,737.4	9,842.6	-32%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.8	75.3	+5%	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	108.4	96.9	+12%	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.

Formaldehyde13.46 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde1.16 per million
Benzene0.82 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing76
Air permit holder (minor source)20
Industrial wastewater discharge13
NPDES wastewater discharge permit11
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Wind power plant6
Public airport3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Major air pollution source2
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Gas power plant1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Poet Biorefining - Hanlontown Llc, Hanlontown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Formaldehyde, Methanol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 46,899 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 50444WTHNL3638F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Manly Terminal Llc, Manly
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, n-Hexane, Benzene, Formaldehyde and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 38,008 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5045WMNLYT15753 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
New Heaven Chemicals Iowa Llc - Smo Manufacturing Plant, Manly
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 102,583 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5045WNWHVN15853 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Poet Biorefining - Hanlontown, Hanlontown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015723010 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
Poet Biorefining - Hanlontown, Hanlontown
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015723010 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
New Heaven Chemicals, Inc., Manly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061066199 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Poet Biorefining - Hanlontown, Hanlontown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015723010 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
I35-105 Interchange Commercial District, Northwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046490775 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
New Heaven Chemicals, Inc., Manly
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110061066199 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Manly Terminal, Llc, Manly
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030745442 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Poet Biorefining - Hanlontown, Hanlontown
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015723010 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Poet Biorefining-Hanlontown, Llc, Hanlontown
Gas power plant.
Record ID 63832 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Trustile Doors Of Iowa, Northwood
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $22,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000593509 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
I35-105 Interchange Commercial District, Northwood
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0084221: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Fertile City Of Stp, Fertile
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010032543 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Carpenter City Of Stp, Carpenter
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071710395 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Trustile Doors Of Iowa, Northwood
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $22,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000593509 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Northwood Muni, Northwood
Public airport. O.
Record ID 5D2 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Kensett, City Of-Stp, Kensett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011272666 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Manly Wwtp, Manly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039697539 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Ada Enterprises Inc, Northwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001326805 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Grafton City Of Stp, Grafton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010032115 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Northwood City Of Stp, Northwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010035121 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Joice, City Of Stp, Joice
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069999969 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Poet Biorefining - Hanlontown, Llc, Hanlontown
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IA0078042: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.4

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 Worth 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 Worth 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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