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Jefferson County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Jefferson County is 186 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 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 465 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (190), Industrial wastewater discharge (81), Air permit holder (minor source) (73). 2 correctional facilities operate in the county. 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: 38.3042, -88.9236.

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 Jefferson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	7.5	4.6	1.63x	4.6 to 11.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	48.6	30.2	1.61xSignificant	40.6 to 58	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	37.9	23.8	1.59xSignificant	30.3 to 46.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	74.2	51.8	1.43xSignificant	64.1 to 85.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	25.6	18.7	1.37xSignificant	19.7 to 32.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7.5	5.7	1.32x	4.5 to 12	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	186	143.2	1.3xSignificant	169.5 to 203.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	511.9	453.4	1.13xSignificant	483.6 to 541.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.6	13.9	1.12x	10.9 to 21.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.6	8.7	1.1x	6.2 to 14.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.9	14.5	1.1x	11.1 to 22	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.2	6.6	1.09x	4.3 to 11.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.5	17.9	1.09x	14.2 to 26.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.8	11.3	0.96x	7.1 to 16	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.1	18.5	0.92x	12.4 to 23.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	9.6	13	0.74x	5.6 to 15.4	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 Jefferson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,088.6	9,842.6	+3%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.1	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	64.2	59.8	+7%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	9.3	6.2	+50%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	104.8	96.9	+8%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	31.7	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.

Formaldehyde19.58 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.88 per million
Benzene0.86 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing190
Industrial wastewater discharge81
Air permit holder (minor source)73
NPDES wastewater discharge permit67
Gas station (mapped facility)24
Small hazardous waste generator6
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Heliport3
Major air pollution source2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Solar power plant1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Continental Tire The Americas Llc, Mount Vernon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl isobutyl ketone, Zinc compounds, Lead compounds, Cobalt compounds and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 32,235 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 62864GNRLTHWY14 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
National Railway, Mount Vernon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 750 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6286WNTNLR11SHA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Continental Tire, Mount Vernon
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043806101 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID MVN (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Ppg Industries Inc, Mount Vernon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Certain glycol ethers, sec-Butyl alcohol. 289 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 62864VNXCL1700S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Mt.Vernon Wastewater Treatment Facility, Mount Vernon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000554748 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Continental Tire, Mount Vernon
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043806101 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Beelman Ready Mix, Mount Vernon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018106173 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Beck Bus Service, Mt Vernon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018118339 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Rolling Meadows Est - Mt. Vernon, Mount Vernon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006676445 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bluford Stp, Village Of, Bluford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009735947 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Continental Tire, Mount Vernon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043806101 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Beelman Ready Mix, Mount Vernon
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110018106173 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Archway Rv Park, Mount Vernon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006769167 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Continental Tire, Mount Vernon
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043806101 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Latham Pool Products Inc D/B/A Viking Pools-Il, Dix
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001131533 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Dodds Community School- Stp, Mount Vernon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006768907 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Dix-Kell Water & Sewer Commission Stp, Dix
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010025329 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Mount Vernon Neon, Mount Vernon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Mercury.
TRI facility ID 62864MNTVR1NEON (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Latham Pool Products Inc D/B/A Viking Pools-Il, Dix
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001131533 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Idot, Various
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054833374 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Idoc Big Muddy River Correctional Center, Ina
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071531742 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cheyenne Resources Inc, Waltonville
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit IL0004707: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Continental Tire, Mount Vernon
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043806101 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Woodlawn Stp, Village Of, Woodlawn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071867341 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8

Correctional facilities

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

Big Muddy River Correctional Center, Ina
EPA FRS registry ID
110018097762
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Idoc Big Muddy River Correctional Center, Ina
EPA FRS registry ID
110071531742
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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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