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Washington County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Washington County is 160.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 248 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (78), Industrial wastewater discharge (54), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (49). 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: 38.3664, -89.4248.

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 Washington 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	45.5	23.8	1.91xSignificant	32.6 to 62.3	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	23.8	13	1.83xSignificant	13.5 to 38.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	26.2	18.7	1.4x	17.4 to 38.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	35.4	30.2	1.17x	25.2 to 49.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	518.3	453.4	1.14xSignificant	472 to 568.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	59	51.8	1.14x	45.4 to 76.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	160.3	143.2	1.12x	136 to 188.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.5	17.9	1.09x	11.4 to 31.8	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 Washington County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,640.7	9,842.6	-12%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.1	75.3	+2%	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	92.8	96.9	-4%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	26.8	28.6	-6%	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.

Formaldehyde19.22 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.84 per million
Benzene0.75 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing78
Industrial wastewater discharge54
NPDES wastewater discharge permit49
Air permit holder (minor source)38
Gas station (mapped facility)8
TRI reporting facility4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Major air pollution source2
Combined sewer overflow outfall2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Coal 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.

Prairie State Generating Co, Marissa
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Vanadium compounds, Barium And Barium Compounds, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 35,940,454 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6225WPRRST1739N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Prairie State Generating Station, Marissa
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044852068 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.3
Nascote Industries, Nashville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Butyl alcohol, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Cyclohexane, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 58,477 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 62263NSCTNENTER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Prairie State Generating Station, Marissa
Coal power plant.
Record ID 55856 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 7.6
Nascote Industries Inc, Nashville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Prairie State Generating Station, Marissa
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044852068 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Beelman Ready Mix, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001372498 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ryterski Trucking, Inc., Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006798260 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ligma Corporation, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010019942 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Dubois Stp, Village Of, Du Bois
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006679344 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Prairie State Generating Station, Marissa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044852068 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Purina Animal Nutrition Llc, Nashville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439080 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Antolin Nashville, Nashville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439099 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Beelman Ready Mix, Nashville
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001372498 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Radom Stp, Village Of, Radom
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018179709 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Minonk Stp, City Of, Minonk
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0037818:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Minonk Stp, City Of, Minonk
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0037818:INF (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Nascote Industries Inc, Nashville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Dubois Center Church Camp Stp, Du Bois
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006768854 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
New Minden Stp, Village Of, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009986836 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Nascote Industries Inc, Nashville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Nascote Industries Inc, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Idot, Nashville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041971444 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Purina Animal Nutrition Llc - Nashville Il, Nashville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 62263GRWMR17815 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Antolin Nashville, Nashville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates.
TRI facility ID 62263LGMCR18355 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 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 Washington 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 Washington 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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