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McLean County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in McLean County is 147.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,053 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (247), Rail grade crossing (205), Air permit holder (minor source) (201). 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: 40.5081, -88.8631.

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 McLean County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	35.6	23.8	1.5xSignificant	31.7 to 39.9	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	22.5	16.4	1.37x	15.6 to 31.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.3	4.8	1.31x	4.8 to 8.3	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	4.4	3.7	1.19x	3.1 to 6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	35.2	30.2	1.17xSignificant	31.5 to 39.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.1	6.2	1.15x	5.4 to 9.1	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5	4.6	1.09x	3.6 to 6.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.1	5.7	1.07x	4.5 to 8	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12	11.3	1.06x	9.9 to 14.5	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	19.8	18.7	1.06x	17 to 23	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.6	4.4	1.05x	3.3 to 6.3	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	147.3	143.2	1.03x	139.5 to 155.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	51.7	51.8	1x	47.1 to 56.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.7	13.9	0.99x	11.4 to 16.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.3	3.4	0.97x	2.2 to 4.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	434.4	453.4	0.96x	420.7 to 448.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.1	17.9	0.96x	14.5 to 20.2	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	3.7	4.1	0.9x	2.5 to 5.2	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	11.7	13	0.9x	9.5 to 14.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.6	18.5	0.9x	14.1 to 19.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.6	2	0.8x	0.9 to 2.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	10.1	14.5	0.7x	8 to 12.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	5.9	8.7	0.68x	4.4 to 7.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	4.1	6.6	0.62x	2.9 to 5.7	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	4.1	6.6	0.62x	2.9 to 5.8	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 McLean County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,618.5	9,842.6	-33%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.5	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	32.7	59.8	-45%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.1	6.2	-17%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	59.6	96.9	-39%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	13.2	28.6	-54%	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.

Formaldehyde15.88 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.39 per million
Benzene0.98 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 241 good, 4 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 44, peak 154.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,053 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit247
Rail grade crossing205
Air permit holder (minor source)201
Industrial wastewater discharge200
Gas station (mapped facility)66
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)40
Small hazardous waste generator20
Combined sewer overflow outfall19
Major air pollution source9
Public airport8
Wind power plant5
TRI reporting facility5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)5
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Large hazardous waste generator3
Heliport3
Landfill (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Oil-fired power plant1
Scrapyard (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.

Cargill Inc, Bloomington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Cyclohexane. 1,720,000 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61701CRGLL115SE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Rivian Automotive, Normal
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl methacrylate, n-Hexane, n-Butyl alcohol, Manganese And Manganese Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 14,003 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61761DMNDS100ND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Cargill, Inc., Bloomington
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000438170 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc, Normal
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041156780 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Bridgestone Americas Off Road, Normal
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Zinc compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Lead compounds. Reports carcinogens. 76 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61702BRDGSVETER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
ISU HARRIS PHYSICAL PLANT, Normal
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 171132003 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5.5
Central Il Rgnl/Bloomington-Normal, Bloomington/Normal
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID BMI (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, Normal
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007262862 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Vcna Prairie Llc - Yard 1026, Bloomington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 6170WPRRMT917EA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Stark Materials, Bloomington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002387818 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Deer Ridge Subdivision Stp, Bloomington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006679451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Rowe Construction - Carmichael Pit 90, Heyworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006768257 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Westwind Estates Stp, Lexington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009982475 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Leroy Stp, City Of, Le Roy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009989209 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Sherwood Lake Subdivision Stp, Bloomington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014451119 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Morton, Village Of, Morton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018335835 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Estes Express Terminal 66, Normal
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024854969 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Downs Ccdd Facility, Downs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041249182 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Diane Bruehl Private Sewage Disposal System, Saybrook
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067185735 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Tom And Susan Foster Private Sewage Disposal System, Bellflower
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070248932 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Colfax Stp, Village Of, Colfax
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010025418 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Towanda Co, Towanda
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018126516 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc, Normal
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041156780 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Cropsey Public Water Supply, Cropsey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043482790 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Sherry Spink Private Sewage Disposal System, Downs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071221682 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3

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 McLean 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 McLean 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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