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Jo Daviess County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Jo Daviess County is 145.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 260 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (61), Air permit holder (minor source) (56), Rail grade crossing (54). 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: 42.346, -90.1802.

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 Jo Daviess County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	21.4	18.7	1.14x	15.4 to 29.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.6	18.5	1.06x	13.2 to 28.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	31.7	30.2	1.05x	25 to 40.5	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.6	17.9	1.04x	11.6 to 28.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	145.5	143.2	1.02x	128.7 to 164.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	10.9	11.3	0.96x	7.1 to 17	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	22.8	23.8	0.96x	16.3 to 31.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	412.3	453.4	0.91x	381.1 to 445.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	41.7	51.8	0.81x	33.4 to 52.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	9.7	13.9	0.7x	6.2 to 15.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	9	14.5	0.62x	4.7 to 16.2	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 Jo Daviess County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,364.4	9,842.6	-35%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.9	75.3	+6%	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	85.6	96.9	-12%	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.

Formaldehyde15.18 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.44 per million
Benzene0.9 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 341 days: 325 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 33, peak 87.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit61
Air permit holder (minor source)56
Rail grade crossing54
Industrial wastewater discharge44
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Public airport4
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Major air pollution source2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Solar power plant2
Superfund (NPL) site2
EPA air quality monitor1
Brownfield property1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
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.

Savanna Army Depot Activity, Savanna
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 42.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IL3210020803 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Bautsch-Gray Mine, Galena
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 49. NPL Site.
EPA site ID ILN000510407 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
East Dubuque Nitrogen Fertilizers Llc, East Dubuque
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Methanol, Formaldehyde and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 7,251,027 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61025PHNXC16675 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.8
Rentech Energy Midwest Corp, East Dubuque
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000606158 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.4
Tessenderlo Kerley Inc, East Dubuque
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070047470 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9
Tessenderlo Kerley Inc. - E. Dubuque, East Dubuque
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Manganese. 392,509 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6102WTSSND16677 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Rentech Energy Midwest Corp, East Dubuque
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000606158 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Rentech Energy Midwest Corp, East Dubuque
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000606158 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Rentech Energy Midwest Corp, East Dubuque
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000606158 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Aggregate Materials Co, East Dubuque
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001803157 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Galena South Wwtf, Galena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012689420 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
East Dubuque, City Of, East Dubuque
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017706776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Tessenderlo Kerley Inc, East Dubuque
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070047470 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Tessenderlo Kerley Inc, East Dubuque
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070047470 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Brewster Cheese Co, Stockton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000436911 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Rentech Energy Midwest Corp, East Dubuque
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000606158 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Aggregate Materials Co, East Dubuque
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001803157 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tessenderlo Kerley Inc, East Dubuque
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110070047470 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Northern Natural Gas Co, East Dubuque
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001385616 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Jo Daviess Service Company, Galena
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071984931 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Warren Stp, Warren
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009988335 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Iawc - Galena Territory Stp, Galena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064251241 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Brewster - Stockton Plant, Stockton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid.
TRI facility ID 61085KRFTN300WR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
East Dubuque Stp, East Dubuque
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009735260 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Hanover Stp, Village Of, Hanover
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010024507 (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.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Jo Daviess 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 Jo Daviess 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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