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Clay County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Clay County is 198.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 177 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (51), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (32), Rail grade crossing (30). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 30 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: 38.7488, -88.4773.

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 Clay County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	34.5	17.9	1.93xSignificant	22.6 to 50.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	55.3	30.2	1.83xSignificant	41.6 to 72.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	89.2	51.8	1.72xSignificant	71.9 to 110.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	37.8	23.8	1.59xSignificant	24.9 to 55.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	198.9	143.2	1.39xSignificant	171.2 to 230.3	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	24.8	18.7	1.33x	15.8 to 37.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	23.7	18.5	1.28x	14.9 to 36.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	576	453.4	1.27xSignificant	526.7 to 629	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 Clay County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,233.2	9,842.6	-16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.8	75.3	+1%	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	73.1	96.9	-25%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	25.5	28.6	-11%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 30 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde18.62 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.81 per million
Benzene0.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)51
NPDES wastewater discharge permit32
Rail grade crossing30
Industrial wastewater discharge29
Gas station (mapped facility)8
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Large hazardous waste generator3
Oil-fired power plant3
TRI reporting facility3
Major air pollution source2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
Scrapyard (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.

North American Lighting Inc, Flora
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 10,831 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 62839NRTHM20IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Sherwin-Williams Co, Flora
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Triethylamine, Certain glycol ethers, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,059 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 62839MNWXC14IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
North American Lighting Inc, Flora
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439829 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Flora Stp, City Of, Flora
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000731389 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Sherwin-Williams Co. - Flora, Flora
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439810 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Hella Electronics Corp, Flora
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005888281 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Hella Electronics Corp, Flora
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 62839HLLLC111VI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Bailey Family Farm, Xenia
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071413966 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Imea Flora, Flora
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 56116 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Flora Site A, Flora
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 56117 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Flora Site B, Flora
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 56118 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
North American Lighting Inc, Flora
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439829 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Clay City, Village Of, Clay City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064283270 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Ameren Services, Flora
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007399396 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Raccoon Creek Energy Center, Flora
Gas power plant.
Record ID 55417 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.3
North American Lighting Inc, Flora
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439829 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Sherwin-Williams Co. - Flora, Flora
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439810 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Ameren Services, Flora
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007399396 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Louisville Stp, Louisville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010025436 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cargill Feed & Nutrition Flora, Flora
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 62839CRGLL6INDU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Flora Stp, City Of, Flora
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0020273: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Clay City, Village Of, Clay City
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0020974: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Ameren Services, Flora
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007399396 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Xenia Stp, Village Of, Xenia
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ILG580029: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Hella Electronics Corp, Flora
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005888281 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3

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 Clay 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 Clay 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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