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Benton County, Indiana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Benton County is 203.8 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 1.9 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 156 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (99), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (15), Industrial wastewater discharge (14). 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: 40.5933, -87.3111.

How this county ranks in Indiana

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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 Benton County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	57.5	30.2	1.9xSignificant	40.1 to 80.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	33.8	17.9	1.89xSignificant	20.2 to 53.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	34.9	18.5	1.89xSignificant	21.5 to 54.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	32.8	18.7	1.75xSignificant	19.6 to 52.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	89.8	51.8	1.73xSignificant	67.4 to 118.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	203.8	143.2	1.42xSignificant	168.7 to 244.7	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	32.7	23.8	1.37x	18.6 to 53.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	604.8	453.4	1.33xSignificant	541.1 to 674.4	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 Benton County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,601.8	9,842.6	+8%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.5	75.3	-1%	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	98.7	96.9	+2%	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.

Formaldehyde15.21 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.39 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

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

Rail grade crossing99
NPDES wastewater discharge permit15
Industrial wastewater discharge14
Brownfield property6
Combined sewer overflow outfall6
Wind power plant5
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Public airport2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Major air pollution source1
Air permit holder (minor source)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.

Oxford Municipal Wwtp, Oxford
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0021342: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 5.1
Oxford Municipal Wwtp, Oxford
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0021342:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Oxford Municipal Wwtp, Oxford
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0021342:002 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Oxford Municipal Wwtp, Oxford
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0021342:003 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Oxford Municipal Wwtp, Oxford
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0021342:005 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Oxford Municipal Wwtp, Oxford
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0021342:006 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Oxford Water Utility, Oxford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012137213 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Trunkline Gas Compressor Station, Ambia
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044231319 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Good Earth Market Marathon, Otterbein
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058607477 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Oxford Elementary School, Oxford
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071961721 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Odle Trucking, Boswell
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971849 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Otterbein Lutheran Church, Otterbein
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071980870 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Graphic Packaging, Fowler
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983836 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Fowler Food Pantry, Fowler
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985816 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Trunkline Gas Compressor Station, Ambia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044231319 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Holscher Products Inc, Fowler
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055024753 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Fowler Municipal Wwtp, Fowler
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0050253: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Boswell Wwtp, Boswell
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0039756: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.2
Benton Central Jr Sr High School, Oxford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006766696 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Benton Central Jr Sr High Sch, Oxford
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0021164: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.9
Fowler Municipal Wwtp, Fowler
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009739694 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Boswell Wwtp, Boswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009977800 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Oxford Municipal Wwtp, Oxford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039895423 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Powell Sys Inc Fowler Div, Fowler
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000404394 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Trunkline Gas Compressor Station, Ambia
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044231319 (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 Benton County

Indiana 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 Benton County, and their findings.
Indiana vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Indiana health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Indiana 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.
Indiana 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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