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Ford County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ford County is 180.3 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 2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 263 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (104), Air permit holder (minor source) (52), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (39). 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: 40.6874, -88.1801.

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 Ford County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	61.5	30.2	2.04xSignificant	46.9 to 79.9	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	30.5	18.7	1.63xSignificant	20.2 to 44.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	17.1	11.3	1.51x	9.6 to 28.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66.2	51.8	1.28x	50.8 to 85.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	180.3	143.2	1.26xSignificant	154.3 to 210.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.6	18.5	1.17x	12.7 to 34.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	513.3	453.4	1.13xSignificant	465.8 to 564.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.2	23.8	1.02x	14.9 to 37.6	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 Ford County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,100.9	9,842.6	-8%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.3	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	81.9	96.9	-16%	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.

Formaldehyde14.7 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.31 per million
Benzene0.74 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing104
Air permit holder (minor source)52
NPDES wastewater discharge permit39
Industrial wastewater discharge31
Gas station (mapped facility)8
Combined sewer overflow outfall4
Major air pollution source3
Public airport3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Small hazardous waste generator2
Wind power plant2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Brownfield property1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
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.

Gibson Solae, Gibson City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 2,266,238 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 60936CNTRLRT479 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.4
One Earth Energy Llc, Gibson City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 98,718 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6093WNRTHN22NRT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Bunge North America - Gibson City, Gibson City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042078989 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.1
One Earth Energy, Llc, Gibson City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039176030 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Bunge North America - Gibson City, Gibson City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042078989 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Davis Welding, Gibson City
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002024504 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Stelle Community Association Stp, Stelle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009988424 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Piper City Rehab And Living Center Stp, Piper City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018337771 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Gibson Materials Company, Gibson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018482738 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
One Earth Energy, Llc, Gibson City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039176030 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Bunge North America - Gibson City, Gibson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042078989 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Bob Miller Private Sewage Disposal System, Melvin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070503184 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mcguire Residence Private Sewage Disposal System, Gibson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070815180 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Davis Welding, Gibson City
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110002024504 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
One Earth Energy, Llc, Gibson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039176030 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Bunge North America - Gibson City, Gibson City
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042078989 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
O & M Building Private Sewage Disposal System, Cabery
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070031806 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Gibson City Wpcf, City Of, Gibson City
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit IL0023281:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Gibson City Wpcf, City Of, Gibson City
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit IL0023281:A01 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Gibson City Wpcf, City Of, Gibson City
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit IL0023281:B01 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Gibson City Wpcf, City Of, Gibson City
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit IL0023281:INF (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Gibson City Energy Center Llc, Gibson City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018482747 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
One Earth Energy, Llc, Gibson City
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039176030 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gibson City Wpcf, City Of, Gibson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006770208 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Gibson City Energy Center Llc, Gibson City
Gas power plant.
Record ID 55201 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.2

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 Ford 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 Ford 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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