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Elkhart County, Indiana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Elkhart County is 155.8 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. Federal databases place 1,807 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (479), Industrial wastewater discharge (325), Air permit holder (minor source) (126). 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: 41.5975, -85.8585.

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 Elkhart County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3	2	1.5x	2 to 4.1	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	16.6	13	1.28xSignificant	14.2 to 19.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	62.7	51.8	1.21xSignificant	58.3 to 67.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	36.1	30.2	1.2xSignificant	32.8 to 39.7	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.9	4.1	1.2x	3.7 to 6.4	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.5	4.8	1.15x	4.2 to 7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.7	3.4	1.09x	2.7 to 5	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	155.8	143.2	1.09xSignificant	148.8 to 163.2	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5	4.6	1.09x	3.8 to 6.5	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.9	3.7	1.05x	2.8 to 5.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	9.8 to 13.8	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	16.9	16.4	1.03x	12.1 to 23.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.3	6.2	1.02x	4.9 to 8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.5	6.6	0.98x	5.1 to 8.3	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.6	2.7	0.96x	1.7 to 3.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.3	8.7	0.95x	6.8 to 10.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	426.8	453.4	0.94x	414.8 to 439.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.1	4.4	0.93x	3 to 5.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	12.8	13.9	0.92x	10.8 to 15	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17	18.5	0.92x	14.7 to 19.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.2	17.9	0.91x	13.9 to 18.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.1	14.5	0.9x	11 to 15.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	4.9	5.7	0.86x	3.7 to 6.3	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	15.1	18.7	0.81x	12.9 to 17.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	4.7	6.6	0.71x	3.6 to 6.1	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	14.7	23.8	0.62x	12.6 to 17.2	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 Elkhart County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,847.4	9,842.6	-10%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.2	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	67.1	59.8	+12%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8	6.2	+29%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	66.9	96.9	-31%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	16.6	28.6	-42%	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.

Formaldehyde16.04 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.5 per million
Benzene1.13 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 364 days: 222 good, 6 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 43, peak 171.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,807 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit479
Industrial wastewater discharge325
Air permit holder (minor source)126
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)116
Rail grade crossing113
Brownfield property111
TRI reporting facility100
Gas station (mapped facility)98
Combined sewer overflow outfall78
Small hazardous waste generator77
Major air pollution source58
Large hazardous waste generator46
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)31
Hazardous waste transporter15
Superfund (NPL) site7
Public airport6
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)3
Landfill (mapped facility)3
EPA air quality monitor2
Commercial airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Biomass power plant2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Airfield1
Heliport1
Hydroelectric plant1
Solar power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)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.

Lta Manufacturing, Elkhart
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $49,395.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000399033 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Conrail Rail Yard (Elkhart), Elkhart
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 42.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IND000715490 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Himco Dump, Elkhart
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 42.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IND980500292 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Main Street Well Field, Elkhart
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 42.5. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IND980794358 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Lusher Street Ground Water Contamination, Elkhart
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IND982073785 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Lane Street Ground Water Contamination, Elkhart
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 40.5. NPL Site.
EPA site ID INN000510229 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
North 5th Street Groundwater Contamination, Goshen
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID INN000510667 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
North Shore Drive, Elkhart
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID INSFN0507828 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Smoker Craft Incorporated, New Paris
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $69,390.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000399480 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.9
Adorn Incorporated, Elkhart
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $109,378.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002384465 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.8
Jayco Inc, Middlebury
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $20,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000399257 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.5
Premium Custom Painting Company, Elkhart
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $12,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001236216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.4
Better Way Products, New Paris
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate, Toluene. Reports carcinogens. 1,551,596 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46553BTTRW70891 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Franklin-Bay Llc, Elkhart
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 617,934 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46517JSNND1500W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Global Composites Inc Plant 4, Elkhart
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate, Dimethyl phthalate. Reports carcinogens. 608,636 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46517GLBLG58190 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Smoker Craft Inc., New Paris
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Toluene, Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 496,684 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46553SMKRC68143 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Kountry Wood Products Llc, Nappanee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, Ethylbenzene, Toluene. Reports carcinogens. 430,658 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4655WKNTRY352SH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Kountry Wood Products Llc, Nappanee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, Ethylbenzene, Toluene. Reports carcinogens. 384,771 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46550KNTRY5EWAB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Highwater Marine Llc. Dba Godfrey Marine, Elkhart
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 382,925 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46515GDFRY22787 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Lta Manufacturing Llc, Elkhart
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 378,574 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46517RNCHF28564 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Global Composites Inc. Plant 6 Panel Div, Elkhart
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 372,344 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4651WGLBLC575CU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Truck Accessories Group Llc Dba Tag Midwest, Elkhart
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 372,264 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46517LRMDW58288 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Forest River Inc. College Avenue Complex, Goshen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Tetrachloroethylene, Xylene (mixed isomers), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 342,257 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4652WFRSTR27827 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Altec Engineering Inc, Elkhart
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Toluene. Reports carcinogens. 313,610 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46515LTCNG28274 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Carpenter Company, Elkhart
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $13,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000742153 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.7

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 Elkhart 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 Elkhart 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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