IL / county FIPS 17127 / county research

Massac County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Massac County is 179.4 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 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 129 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (35), Industrial wastewater discharge (31), Air permit holder (minor source) (19). 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: 37.2003, -88.6942.

How this county ranks in Illinois

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Massac County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	50.8	30.2	1.68xSignificant	38.1 to 67.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	77	51.8	1.49xSignificant	61.3 to 96.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.1	17.9	1.29x	13.9 to 36.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	179.4	143.2	1.25xSignificant	154 to 208.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.7	14.5	1.22x	9.7 to 30	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.9	18.7	1.06x	12.5 to 30.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	457.4	453.4	1.01x	415.1 to 503.2	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 Massac County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,124.2	9,842.6	+13%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.5	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	77.3	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	79.3	96.9	-18%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	28.9	28.6	+1%	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.

Formaldehyde21.83 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde2.11 per million
Benzene0.85 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing35
Industrial wastewater discharge31
Air permit holder (minor source)19
NPDES wastewater discharge permit18
Major air pollution source4
Large greenhouse gas emitter4
Combined sewer overflow outfall3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Gas station (mapped facility)2
TRI reporting facility2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Coal power plant1
Gas power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Honeywell International Inc, Metropolis
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000595856 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.1
Electric Energy Inc, Joppa
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Hydrogen fluoride, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Barium And Barium Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 719,063 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 62953LCTRC2100P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Holcim Participations Us Inc - Joppa Plant, Grand Chain
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Mercury, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Chromium and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 426,473 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 62953MSSRPCOUNT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Holcim (Us) Inc, Grand Chain
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000790653 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.7
Joppa Steam, Joppa
Coal power plant.
Record ID 887 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6.9
Honeywell International Inc, Metropolis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen fluoride, Ammonia, Hydrogen sulfide, Ethylene glycol and 1 more. 41,172 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 62960LLDSGUSHWY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Honeywell International Inc, Metropolis
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000595856 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Honeywell International Inc, Metropolis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000595856 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Metropolis Stp, City Of, Metropolis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000731726 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Holcim (Us) Inc, Grand Chain
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000790653 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Holcim (Us) Inc, Grand Chain
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000790653 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Metropolis Ready Mix, Metropolis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001801854 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Electric Energy Inc, Joppa
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043786249 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Hidden Acres Mobile Home Park, Metropolis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006775588 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Honeywell International Inc, Metropolis
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000595856 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Holcim (Us) Inc, Grand Chain
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000790653 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Metropolis Ready Mix, Metropolis
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001801854 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Electric Energy Inc, Joppa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043786249 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Metropolis Stp, City Of, Metropolis
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0029874:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Metropolis Stp, City Of, Metropolis
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0029874:003 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Metropolis Stp, City Of, Metropolis
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0029874:INF (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Trunkline Gas Co, Grand Chain
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001801863 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Electric Energy Inc, Joppa
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043786249 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Midwest Electric Power Inc, Joppa
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828308 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Mepi Gt Facility, Joppa
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7858 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.2

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 Massac 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 Massac 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.

Scan an address in Massac County View on the heat map All Illinois counties