IL / county FIPS 17131 / county research

Mercer County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Mercer County is 186.9 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 1.9 times the U.S. rate and Pancreas deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 130 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (43), Industrial wastewater discharge (39), Air permit holder (minor source) (28). 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: 41.1955, -90.7498.

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 Mercer County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	57.9	30.2	1.92xSignificant	45.3 to 73.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	19.3	11.3	1.71xSignificant	12 to 30	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	22.8	13.9	1.64xSignificant	14.8 to 34.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	80.6	51.8	1.56xSignificant	65.8 to 98.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	21.3	14.5	1.47x	12.7 to 33.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	25.7	18.5	1.39x	17.6 to 37	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	186.9	143.2	1.31xSignificant	163.1 to 213.7	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	27.3	23.8	1.15x	17.7 to 40.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	500.1	453.4	1.1xSignificant	457.7 to 545.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.1	18.7	0.97x	11 to 28.7	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 Mercer County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,042	9,842.6	-28%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.3	75.3	+3%	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	97	96.9	+0%	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.

Formaldehyde16.09 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.48 per million
Benzene0.76 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit43
Industrial wastewater discharge39
Air permit holder (minor source)28
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Public airport3
Large hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

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

General Metal Coatings Llc, Aledo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. Reports carcinogens. 227 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6123WMMFXX82SE1 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Meminger Metal Finishing Inc, Aledo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese. 1,270 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61231MMNGR217SE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Meminger Metal Finishing Inc, Aledo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002353774 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Cardinal Plating Solutions Inc, Aledo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027985624 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Sherrard Jr-Sr High School Stp, Sherrard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009984384 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
General Grind And Machine Inc, Aledo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042385852 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Brandon King Private Sewage System, Sherrard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070216088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fyre Lake Water Company-Tp 01-Well #1 & #2 Treatment, Sherrard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013014317 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
New Windsor Stp, Village Of, New Windsor
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044897449 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Matherville Stp, Village Of, Matherville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009726403 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Jeremey Sierens Private Sewage Disposal System, Sherrard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070518895 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
New Boston Stp, City Of, New Boston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009981966 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Meminger Metal Finishing Inc, Aledo
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002353774 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Joy Stw, Joy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010025098 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Idot, Aledo
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018385594 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cardinal Plating Solutions Inc, Aledo
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027985624 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Viola Stp, Village Of, Viola
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010024259 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Matherville Stp, Village Of, Matherville
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ILG580238: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Aledo Stp, City Of, Aledo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015723136 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Sherrard Stp, Village Of, Sherrard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010025711 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1011235599 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1368078068 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Walmart 792, Aledo
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003062435 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hahn Ready Mix Co, Aledo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006773651 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mack Trucking, Viola
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006774678 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Mercer 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 Mercer 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 Mercer County View on the heat map All Illinois counties