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Effingham County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Effingham County is 159.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 503 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (124), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (120), Air permit holder (minor source) (102). One correctional facility operates in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. 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: 39.0491, -88.5837.

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 Effingham 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	39.3	23.8	1.65xSignificant	31.1 to 49	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7.9	4.8	1.65x	4.7 to 12.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39.9	30.2	1.32xSignificant	32.1 to 49.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	64.8	51.8	1.25xSignificant	54.8 to 76.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.4	17.9	1.2x	15.7 to 28.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	512.4	453.4	1.13xSignificant	482.4 to 544	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	159.1	143.2	1.11x	143 to 176.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.2	18.5	1.04x	13.9 to 25.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.3	18.7	1.03x	14.1 to 26.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.6	8.7	0.99x	5.2 to 13.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.3	14.5	0.99x	9.8 to 20.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.7	11.3	0.95x	6.9 to 16.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.2	6.6	0.94x	3.5 to 10.4	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	10.3	13	0.79x	6.2 to 16.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	10.6	13.9	0.76x	6.9 to 15.9	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 Effingham County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,573	9,842.6	-33%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.4	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	39.7	59.8	-34%	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	72.5	96.9	-25%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	14.6	28.6	-49%	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.

Formaldehyde18.58 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.77 per million
Benzene0.85 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 242 days: 231 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 35, peak 84.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing124
NPDES wastewater discharge permit120
Air permit holder (minor source)102
Industrial wastewater discharge83
Gas station (mapped facility)24
Small hazardous waste generator10
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)8
Large hazardous waste generator6
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)6
Combined sewer overflow outfall4
Major air pollution source3
Public airport2
Heliport2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Brownfield property1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Oil-fired 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.

Wastewater Treatment Plant, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000720275 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Adm Animal Nutrition, Effingham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Copper And Copper Compounds, Copper compounds and 1 more. 484 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6240WDMNML12MCG (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Adm Animal Nutrition, Effingham
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070813439 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Adm Animal Nutrition, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439339 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Y-Yard Auto & Truck Recycling, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010016561 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Kurt Strullmyer Private Sewage Disposal System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070008969 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Michael Worman Private Sewage Disposal System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070216193 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
David Duncan Surface Discharging Private Sewage System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070219151 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wally Wax Private Sewage Disposal System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070936883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Cathy Brummer Private Sewage Disposal System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071097884 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mardeanna Sproat Private Sewage Disposal System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071324828 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ted Habing Private Sewage Disposal System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071336757 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Joseph Rintelman Private Sewage Disposal System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071364822 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Effingham Machining & Assembly Components, Effingham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Manganese. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 6240WFFNGH15HEA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Quebecor World - Effingham Div, Effingham
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439311 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Matthew Dammerman Private Sewage Disposal System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070032300 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
John Jackson Private Sewage Disposal System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070506277 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Thomas Westrick Private Sewage Disposal System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070930450 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Roberta Connelly Connely Private Sewage Disposal System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071309714 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Edward Grunloh Private Sewage Disposal System, Effingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071405310 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Altamont, Altamont
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 7990 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Adm Animal Nutrition, Effingham
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439339 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Beecher City Wwtp, Village Of, Beecher City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009984222 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Camp Walter Scott Stp, Dieterich
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009986319 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Shumway Stp, Village Of, Shumway
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022548457 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4

Correctional facilities

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

Lawrence County Correctional Center-Tp01 - Ion Exchange Softening Unit, Dieterich
EPA FRS registry ID
110013040262
Water system
IL0490350
Health-based violations
6 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
13
Contaminants cited
Lead and Copper Rule, TTHM
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Effingham 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 Effingham 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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