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Hamilton County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Hamilton County is 160.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 127 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (53), Industrial wastewater discharge (28), Air permit holder (minor source) (23). 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: 38.0766, -88.5392.

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 Hamilton County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	44.5	30.2	1.47x	29.8 to 65.6	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	32.9	23.8	1.38x	19 to 53.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	67	51.8	1.29x	48 to 92.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	160.6	143.2	1.12x	130.4 to 196.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	414.6	453.4	0.91x	360.9 to 474.7	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 Hamilton County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,280.9	9,842.6	-16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.1	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	52.2	96.9	-46%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde19.17 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.91 per million
Benzene0.75 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 361 days: 245 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 42, peak 98.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing53
Industrial wastewater discharge28
Air permit holder (minor source)23
NPDES wastewater discharge permit9
Public airport2
Gas station (mapped facility)2
Heliport2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
EPA air quality monitor1
Brownfield property1
Oil-fired power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
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.

TEN MILE CREEK DNR OFFICE
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 170650002 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5.1
Mcleansboro, Mcleansboro
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 948 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Hamilton Co Coal Llc, Mcleansboro
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063224327 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Mcleansboro High School, Mcleansboro
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071964241 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hamilton County Coal Llc, Mcleansboro
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0078921: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Mcleansboro Stp, City Of, Mcleansboro
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ILG582007: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Broughton Stp, Village Of, Broughton
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ILG580259: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.2
Broughton Stp, Village Of, Broughton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009983189 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Hamilton County Coal Llc, Mcleansboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043262439 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Cores For You Inc, Hamilton
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $20,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070306746 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1180910677 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1191739365 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1191739366 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Hamilton Memorial Hospital, Mcleansboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001303811 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dahlgren, Village Of, Dahlgren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009726216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mcleansboro Stp, City Of, Mcleansboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009735377 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hamilton County Concrete Inc, Mcleansboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010007535 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bond Family Farms, Mc Leansboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055040842 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tree Removal Affected Areas, Dahlgren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072157490 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Micah Miller, Mcleansboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072164855 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
1500n, Enfield
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 346390X (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Rd, Enfield
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 346391E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Miller Store Road, Enfield
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 346393T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Rd, Enfield
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 346394A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
South C Street, Mcleansboro
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 346395G (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3

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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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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