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Macoupin County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Macoupin County is 160.7 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 445 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (127), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (94), Industrial wastewater discharge (93). 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: 39.2562, -89.925.

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 Macoupin County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	87.6	51.8	1.69xSignificant	77.9 to 98.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.6	3.4	1.65x	3.3 to 9	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	7.2	4.6	1.57x	4.6 to 11.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	44.9	30.2	1.49xSignificant	38 to 52.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.8	17.9	1.39xSignificant	19.5 to 31.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	32.4	23.8	1.36xSignificant	26 to 40	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	19.6	14.5	1.35xSignificant	14.8 to 25.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	24.8	18.7	1.33xSignificant	19.7 to 31.1	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.5	3.7	1.22x	2.5 to 7.7	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	8	6.6	1.21x	4.9 to 12.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	539.3	453.4	1.19xSignificant	513.3 to 566.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.1	11.3	1.16x	9.5 to 17.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16	13.9	1.15x	12.1 to 21.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.8	8.7	1.13x	6.7 to 13.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.4	4.8	1.13x	3.2 to 8.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	160.7	143.2	1.12xSignificant	147.2 to 175.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.3	18.5	1.1x	15.7 to 26	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.7	13	0.9x	7.7 to 17	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.1	5.7	0.89x	2.9 to 8.5	2020-2024

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 Macoupin County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,297.9	9,842.6	-6%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.1	75.3	-0%	years
Child mortality	51.2	59.8	-14%	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	97.1	96.9	+0%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	23.3	28.6	-19%	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.

Formaldehyde18.3 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.72 per million
Benzene0.82 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 364 days: 334 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 34, peak 105.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing127
NPDES wastewater discharge permit94
Industrial wastewater discharge93
Air permit holder (minor source)83
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Public airport6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
Combined sewer overflow outfall5
Small hazardous waste generator4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Heliport2
Solar power plant2
TRI reporting facility2
EPA air quality monitor1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hazardous waste transporter1

Highest-severity records

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

Macoupin Energy, Carlinville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Mercury. Reports carcinogens. 1,751 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6262WMCPNN143BR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
City Of Carlinville Stw, Carlinville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010022475 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Macoupin Energy Llc, Carlinville
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007226714 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Thermal Ceramics Inc, Girard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018129345 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Douglas Looney Private Sewage Disposal System, Staunton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070517528 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Christopher Bruley Private Sewage Disposal System, Girard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070621501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Christopher Hatalla Private Sewage Disposal System, Girard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071365446 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Brighton Stp, Village Of, Brighton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009735304 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Southwestern Senior High School Stp, Piasa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009986435 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Palmyra Stp, Palmyra
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010024981 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Dean Mix Private Sewage Disposal System, Gillespie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070211134 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Marsha Smith Private Sewage Disposal System, Carlinville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070252266 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Nathan Bono Private Sewage Disposal System, Staunton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070741274 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Richard Lippold Private Sewage Disposal System, Carlinville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070929814 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Edward Smith Private Sewage Disposal System, Girard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071403672 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
The Mennel Milling Company Of Illinois, Mt. Olive
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000438820 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Prairie Farms Dairy, Carlinville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000552697 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Royal Lakes Stp, Village Of, Royal Lakes
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006768006 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Girard Wwtp, Girard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009988111 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Thermal Ceramics Inc, Girard
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110018129345 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Virden Sanitary District - North Stp, Virden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018197379 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Carlinville Stp, Carlinville
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0022675:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Carlinville Stp, Carlinville
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0022675:002 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Carlinville Stp, Carlinville
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0022675:A01 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Carlinville Stp, Carlinville
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0022675:B01 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4

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 Macoupin 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 Macoupin 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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