IL / county FIPS 17193 / county research

White County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in White County is 174.4 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 161 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (37), Air permit holder (minor source) (35), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (32). 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: 38.0747, -88.1681.

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 White County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	52.1	30.2	1.73xSignificant	39.2 to 68.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	81.6	51.8	1.58xSignificant	65.4 to 101.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	29.1	18.7	1.56xSignificant	19.5 to 42.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	174.4	143.2	1.22xSignificant	149.7 to 202.6	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	26.3	23.8	1.11x	16.9 to 39.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	463.6	453.4	1.02x	421.6 to 509.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.8	17.9	0.94x	9.5 to 28.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.5	18.5	0.78x	8.2 to 24.7	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 White County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,323.8	9,842.6	+5%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.5	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	111.8	96.9	+15%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde19.63 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.94 per million
Benzene0.93 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing37
Air permit holder (minor source)35
NPDES wastewater discharge permit32
Industrial wastewater discharge31
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Major air pollution source2
Brownfield property2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Oil-fired power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Vibracoustic Usa Inc. Carmi Mixing Div, Carmi
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole, Thiram. Reports carcinogens. 2,880 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 62821YLSTH210SM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Vibra Coustic Usa Inc, Carmi
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000439785 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Carmi, Carmi
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 937 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Carmi Stp, City Of, Carmi
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000731637 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Texas Eastern Transmission Lp, Norris City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002070295 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Carmi Light & Water, Carmi
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007227205 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Grayville Prison, Grayville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970620 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Filling Station, Norris City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976044 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Norris City Stp, Village Of, Norris City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009987791 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Norris City Wtp, Village Of, Norris City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010023900 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Idot, Carmi
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018312495 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Carmi Stp, City Of, Carmi
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IL0027910: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Springerton Stp, Village Of, Springerton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013404404 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Swinerton Builders, Enfield Township
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $884,898.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070948325 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Big River Solar, Llc, Enfield Township
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $52,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071540328 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Mill Shoals Stw, Mill Shoals
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010024552 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Enfield East Stp, Village Of, Enfield
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ILG580108: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.2
Enfield East Stp, Village Of, Enfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015337679 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Carmi Muni, Carmi
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID CUL (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/773683238 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Norris City Sewage Disposal
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/845892067 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/846766257 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Crossville Stp, Village Of, Crossville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010024669 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Enfield West Stp, Village Of, Enfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010025043 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Idot I-64 Rest Area - Stp, City Of Grayville
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ILG551097: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.6

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