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Montgomery County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Montgomery County is 167.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Leukemia deaths at 2.2 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 447 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (151), Industrial wastewater discharge (107), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (75). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 39.2579, -89.4209.

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 Montgomery County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	Deaths	12.3	5.7	2.16xSignificant	7.8 to 18.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	36.8	17.9	2.06xSignificant	28.6 to 46.8	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	10.8	6.2	1.74x	6.2 to 17.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	52.4	30.2	1.74xSignificant	43.1 to 63.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	88.2	51.8	1.7xSignificant	75.7 to 102.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	21.5	14.5	1.48xSignificant	15.2 to 29.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	167.8	143.2	1.17xSignificant	150.7 to 186.6	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	27.7	23.8	1.16x	20.1 to 37.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	513.4	453.4	1.13xSignificant	481.3 to 547.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.6	18.7	1.1x	14.8 to 28.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	7.4 to 18	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	11.5	13	0.88x	6.6 to 18.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.6	18.5	0.79x	9.7 to 21.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	10.3	13.9	0.74x	6.3 to 16.3	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 Montgomery County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,025.1	9,842.6	+12%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.1	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	72.5	59.8	+21%	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	110.5	96.9	+14%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	39.2	28.6	+37%	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.

Formaldehyde17.85 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.67 per million
Benzene0.78 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing151
Industrial wastewater discharge107
NPDES wastewater discharge permit75
Air permit holder (minor source)72
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Combined sewer overflow outfall5
Heliport4
Small hazardous waste generator3
Major air pollution source2
Public airport2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Superfund (NPL) site2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1

Highest-severity records

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

Eagle Zinc Co Div T L Diamond, Hillsboro
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID ILD980606941 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
ASARCO Taylor Springs, Taylor Springs
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 30. NPL Site.
EPA site ID ILN000508170 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Hillsboro Energy, Hillsboro
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Mercury. Reports carcinogens. 66,443 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6204WHLLSB1251N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Litchfield Wastewater Treatment Facility, Litchfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025186732 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Hillsboro Energy Llc, Hillsboro
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067390273 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Hillsboro Stp, City Of, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000880315 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Nokomis Stp, City Of, Nokomis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009989478 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Nokomis Quarry Co, Nokomis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010023358 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Hanson Material Service Yd, Nokomis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011267002 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Dynegy Midwest Generation-Illinois Power Generating Co - Coffeen Powerstation, Coffeen
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000500501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Coffeen Stp, City Of, Coffeen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009689934 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Raymond Stp, Village Of, Raymond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009988656 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Nokomis Quarry Co, Nokomis
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110010023358 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hanson Material Service Yd, Nokomis
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110011267002 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hixson Lumber Sales Of Illinois Inc, Hillsboro
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018118302 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Waggoner Water Department, Waggoner
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035766169 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Litchfield Stp, Litchfield
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0020621:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Litchfield Stp, Litchfield
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0020621:002 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Litchfield Stp, Litchfield
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0020621:003 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Litchfield Stp, Litchfield
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0020621:004 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Litchfield Stp, Litchfield
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0020621:INF (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Dynegy Midwest Generation-Illinois Power Generating Co - Coffeen Powerstation, Coffeen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000500501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Fillmore Stp, Village Of, Fillmore
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009985800 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Litchfield-Hillsboro Landfill, Litchfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034162251 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Worksaver Inc, Litchfield
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030733767 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Idoc Graham Correctional Ctr, Hillsboro
EPA FRS registry ID
110007527630
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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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