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Knox County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Knox County is 178.4 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 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 496 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (135), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (91), Industrial wastewater discharge (82). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 40.9314, -90.2133.

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 Knox County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.7	3.4	1.68x	3.4 to 9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	85.8	51.8	1.66xSignificant	76.6 to 95.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	27.9	17.9	1.56xSignificant	22.1 to 34.8	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	5.7	3.7	1.54x	3.5 to 9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	46.5	30.2	1.54xSignificant	40 to 54	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6.3	4.6	1.37x	3.8 to 9.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	32.1	23.8	1.35xSignificant	26.1 to 39.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7.5	5.7	1.32x	4.8 to 11.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	14.6	11.3	1.29x	10.9 to 19.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	178.4	143.2	1.25xSignificant	165 to 192.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	17.3	13.9	1.24x	13.2 to 22.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.6	8.7	1.1x	6.6 to 13.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.8	4.4	1.09x	2.6 to 8.1	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	20.3	18.7	1.09x	15.9 to 25.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	490.7	453.4	1.08xSignificant	466.7 to 515.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6	6.2	0.97x	3.2 to 10	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.9	14.5	0.96x	10.1 to 18.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4	4.8	0.83x	2.3 to 6.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.9	18.5	0.81x	11 to 19.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5	6.6	0.76x	3.1 to 8	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	4.4	6.6	0.67x	2.4 to 7.6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	7.3	13	0.56x	4.2 to 11.8	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 Knox County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,889.2	9,842.6	+0%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.7	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	42.4	59.8	-29%	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	81.5	96.9	-16%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	19.7	28.6	-31%	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.

Formaldehyde16.52 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.52 per million
Benzene0.91 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing135
NPDES wastewater discharge permit91
Industrial wastewater discharge82
Air permit holder (minor source)71
Combined sewer overflow outfall48
Gas station (mapped facility)21
Brownfield property12
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)8
Small hazardous waste generator4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Public airport3
Large hazardous waste generator3
Heliport3
TRI reporting facility3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

Galesburg/Koppers Co., Galesburg
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 34.8. NPL Site.
EPA site ID ILD990817991 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
National Coatings Inc, Galesburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, sec-Butyl alcohol, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 201,929 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61401NTNLCRTE15 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Koppers Inc. (Galesburg Il), Galesburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Creosote, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 32,264 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61401KPPRSHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Gates Corp, Galesburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Antimony compounds, Certain glycol ethers, Polycyclic aromatic compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 276 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61402GTSRBKNOXV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
National Coatings Inc, Galesburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000595561 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Koppers Inc., Galesburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041986287 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Galesburg Sanitary District Stp, Galesburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006645078 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Heat & Control Inc, Galesburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 20 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61401HTCNT1721U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Knox County Landfill, Oneida
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064444123 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Gates Corp, Galesburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000595570 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
River City Supply, Galesburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010007161 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Galesburg Builders Supply #2, Galesburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010007955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wataga - Stp, Village Of, Wataga
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010025604 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Russell Preston Private Sewage Disposal System, East Galesburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070929316 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Bajaj Private Sewage Disposal System, Dahinda
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071069695 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Oak Run Windemere Private Sewage Disposal System, Dahinda
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071220291 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Christopher Anderson Private Sewage Disposal System, Dahinda
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071348167 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Lisa Bennett Private Sewage Disposal System, Maquon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071363732 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Michelle Batson Private Sewage Disposal System, Galesburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070929299 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Daniel Brown Private Sewage Disposal System, Dahinda
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071221364 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bjarne Sorenson Private Sewage Disposal System, Dahinda
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071277535 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Nate Esquivel Jr Private Sewage Disposal System, Dahinda
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071321469 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
David Horton Private Sewage Disposal System, Dahinda
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071401228 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Galesburg Hospital Corp, Galesburg
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001803086 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Oak Run Campers Village Stp, Dahinda
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006769434 (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.

Henry C Hill Correctional Center, Galesburg
EPA FRS registry ID
110001377938
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Knox 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 Knox 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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