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Cass County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cass County is 154.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 112 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (33), Industrial wastewater discharge (22), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (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: 39.9985, -90.2473.

How this county ranks in Illinois

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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 Cass County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	32	18.7	1.71xSignificant	20.9 to 47.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	73.3	51.8	1.42xSignificant	56.1 to 94.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.4	23.8	1.19x	17.4 to 43.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	154.5	143.2	1.08x	128.6 to 184.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	32.3	30.2	1.07x	21.4 to 47.5	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	456.3	453.4	1.01x	410.8 to 505.6	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 Cass County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,822.6	9,842.6	-21%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.8	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	83.1	59.8	+39%	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	84.2	96.9	-13%	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.

Formaldehyde16.97 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.64 per million
Benzene0.75 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)33
Industrial wastewater discharge22
NPDES wastewater discharge permit20
Rail grade crossing19
Combined sewer overflow outfall4
Gas station (mapped facility)4
Public airport3
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Small hazardous waste generator1
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.

Jbs/Swift Pork Co, Beardstown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439623 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.8
Jbs/Swift Pork Co, Beardstown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia. 12,123,879 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 62618XCLCRRR1BO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Jbs/Swift Pork Co, Beardstown
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439623 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Beardstown Sd Stp, Beardstown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000880681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Kent Nutrition Group Inc, Beardstown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Selenium compounds, Copper compounds, Diflubenzuron and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 2 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 62618KNTFDHWY12 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Jbs/Swift Pork Co, Beardstown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439623 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Virginia Water Treatment Plant, Virginia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056988906 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Jbs/Swift Pork Co, Beardstown
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439623 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Kents Nutrition Group Inc, Beardstown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018166777 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Beardstown Sanitary District Stp, Beardstown
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0025135:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Beardstown Sanitary District Stp, Beardstown
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0025135:A01 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Beardstown Sanitary District Stp, Beardstown
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0025135:B01 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Beardstown Sanitary District Stp, Beardstown
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0025135:INF (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Virginia Stp, City Of, Virginia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013812320 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ashland Stp, Village Of, Ashland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009735448 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Greater Beardstown, Beardstown
Public airport. O.
Record ID K06 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Beardstown Sanitary District
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1324390298 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Jim Edgar Panther Creek, Ashland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009982153 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Jim Edgar Panther Creek S.P. - Prairie Lake Stp, Ashland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009982322 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Scottys Auto Parts, Virginia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006774749 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Switching Yard-Beardstown, Beardstown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010001194 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kents Nutrition Group Inc, Beardstown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018166777 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cass Rural Water District 1, Ashland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030448068 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mach 9, Beardstown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030771396 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Walmart #1451-02, Beardstown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031109743 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Cass County

Illinois 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 Cass County, and their findings.
Illinois vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Illinois health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Illinois 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.
Illinois 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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