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Winnebago County, Illinois: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Winnebago County is 162.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.2 times the U.S. rate and Pancreas deaths at 1.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,909 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (456), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (412), Industrial wastewater discharge (235). 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: 42.3243, -89.169.

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 Winnebago County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	18.5	13	1.42xSignificant	16.3 to 20.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.6	2	1.3x	1.9 to 3.5	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.8	17.9	1.27xSignificant	20.6 to 25.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.4	30.2	1.24xSignificant	34.7 to 40.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.2	3.4	1.24x	3.3 to 5.3	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.6	4.6	1.22x	4.6 to 6.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.9	5.7	1.21x	5.7 to 8.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	62.7	51.8	1.21xSignificant	59.2 to 66.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.7	4.8	1.19x	4.7 to 7	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	13.4	11.3	1.19xSignificant	11.8 to 15.1	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	162.8	143.2	1.14xSignificant	157.1 to 168.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	16.3	14.5	1.12x	14.4 to 18.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.9	18.7	1.12xSignificant	18.9 to 23.1	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.5	4.1	1.1x	3.6 to 5.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15.2	13.9	1.09x	13.5 to 17.1	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.1	6.6	1.08x	5.9 to 8.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7	6.6	1.06x	5.9 to 8.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	474.5	453.4	1.05xSignificant	464.2 to 484.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.1	18.5	1.03x	17.1 to 21.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.9	8.7	1.02x	7.6 to 10.3	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.7	3.7	1x	2.9 to 4.7	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.5	23.8	0.99x	21.2 to 26	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.2	4.4	0.95x	3.2 to 5.3	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	15.3	16.4	0.93x	11 to 20.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	4.8	6.2	0.77x	3.8 to 6.1	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	1.9	2.7	0.7x	1.3 to 2.6	2020-2024

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 Winnebago County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,175.6	9,842.6	+14%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.5	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	72.4	59.8	+21%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.1	6.2	+31%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	110.1	96.9	+14%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	53.2	28.6	+86%	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.

Formaldehyde15.34 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.4 per million
Naphthalene1.16 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 355 days: 244 good, 6 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 40, peak 169.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,909 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Air permit holder (minor source)456
NPDES wastewater discharge permit412
Industrial wastewater discharge235
Rail grade crossing169
Brownfield property156
Gas station (mapped facility)147
Small hazardous waste generator80
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)70
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)52
TRI reporting facility45
Large hazardous waste generator20
Public airport13
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)8
Hazardous waste transporter7
Heliport6
Scrapyard (mapped facility)6
Large greenhouse gas emitter5
Superfund (NPL) site5
Major air pollution source4
Gas power plant3
EPA air quality monitor2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Biomass power plant1
Hydroelectric plant1
Solar 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.

Beloit Corp., Rockton
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 52.1. NPL Site.
EPA site ID ILD021440375 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Acme Solvents Reclaiming, Inc. (Morristown Plant), Morristown
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 32. NPL Site.
EPA site ID ILD053219259 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Pagel's Pit, Rockford
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 45.9. NPL Site.
EPA site ID ILD980606685 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Southeast Rockford Ground Water Contamination, Rockford
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 42.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID ILD981000417 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Interstate Pollution Control, Inc., Rockford
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 46. NPL Site.
EPA site ID ILT180011975 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
The Testor Corporation - Blackhawk Park Avenue, Rockford
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000747229 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.9
Jl Clark Inc, Rockford
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000437117 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
J & M Plating Co, Rockford
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000437279 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.4
V-Rod Usa Inc Dba Fiberglass Innovations, Rockford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 83,945 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61104TSTRC440BL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Chem Processing Inc., Rockford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Trichloroethylene, Nitric acid, Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds. Reports carcinogens. 57,932 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61109CHMPR3910L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
J. L. Clark Llc, Rockford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 19,697 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61104JLCLR2300S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Curtis Metal Finishing Co, Machesney Park
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000437331 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
Azz Galvanizing Rockford Llc Dba Roger Bros Galvanizing Llc, Rockford
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $76,874.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000437153 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
Gunite Corp, Rockford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 8,292 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61104GNTCR302PE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Taylor Co, Rockton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Chromium, Nickel, Manganese and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,627 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61072TYLRC750NB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Azz Galvanizing - Rockford Llc, Rockford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,108 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61104RGRSB2007K (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Diamond Heat Treat Llc, Rockford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 75,917 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61109DMNDH3691P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Top Die Casting Co, South Beloit
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 632 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61080THTPD13910 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Arntzen Corp, Rockford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Copper, Chromium, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 375 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61101RNTZN1025S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Curtis Metal Finishing Co, Machesney Park
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Butyl alcohol, Certain glycol ethers, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid and 1 more. 25,458 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 61115CRTSM9917N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Viking Chemical Co, Rockford
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $1,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000437180 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Forest City Technologies Inc, Rockford
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000436966 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Taylor Co- Division Of Carrier Commercial Refrigeration Inc, Rockton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000436760 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Jl Clark Inc, Rockford
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000437117 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
J & M Plating Co, Rockford
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000437279 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 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 Winnebago 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 Winnebago 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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