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Porter County, Indiana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Porter County is 151.8 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 1.1 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 994 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (287), Industrial wastewater discharge (261), Rail grade crossing (167). 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: 41.4669, -87.0747.

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 Porter County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	6.9	4.6	1.5xSignificant	5.4 to 8.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.5	3.4	1.32x	3.4 to 6	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	4.5	3.7	1.22x	3.4 to 6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	60.7	51.8	1.17xSignificant	56.2 to 65.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	34.3	30.2	1.14xSignificant	31 to 37.9	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7	6.2	1.13x	5.3 to 9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.7	18.7	1.11x	18.1 to 23.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.7	17.9	1.1x	17.1 to 22.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.4	14.5	1.06x	13.1 to 18	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	17.4	16.4	1.06x	11.3 to 25.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	151.8	143.2	1.06xSignificant	144.6 to 159.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.5	18.5	1.05x	16.9 to 22.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.6	13	1.05x	11.2 to 16.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	9.8 to 13.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	458.2	453.4	1.01x	445.4 to 471.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14	13.9	1.01x	11.9 to 16.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.7	4.8	0.98x	3.5 to 6.2	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.8	4.1	0.93x	2.8 to 5.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4	4.4	0.91x	2.9 to 5.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.5	6.6	0.83x	4.2 to 7.1	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.1	2.7	0.78x	1.3 to 3.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	4.4	5.7	0.77x	3.2 to 5.9	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	4.8	6.6	0.73x	3.5 to 6.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	16.8	23.8	0.71x	14.4 to 19.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.4	2	0.7x	0.8 to 2.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	5.9	8.7	0.68x	4.6 to 7.5	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 Porter County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,441.3	9,842.6	-24%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	43.2	59.8	-28%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	3.9	6.2	-37%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	75.1	96.9	-23%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	27.5	28.6	-4%	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.

Formaldehyde15.52 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.42 per million
Naphthalene1.37 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 226 good, 11 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 44, peak 136.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit287
Industrial wastewater discharge261
Rail grade crossing167
Gas station (mapped facility)69
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)29
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)27
Air permit holder (minor source)22
TRI reporting facility22
Major air pollution source18
Large hazardous waste generator15
Small hazardous waste generator15
Landfill (mapped facility)14
Hazardous waste transporter11
Combined sewer overflow outfall8
Large greenhouse gas emitter7
EPA air quality monitor6
Public airport4
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)3
Heliport3
Solar power plant2
Commercial airport1
Gas power plant1
Other 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.

Arcelormittal Llc - Burns Harbor Facility, Burns Harbor
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $3,612,471.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607558 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor Llc, Burns Harbor
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Zinc compounds, Phenol, Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 32,434,406 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46304BTHLHBURNS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Nlmk Indiana, Portage
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $54,450.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000398212 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.8
Sequa Coatings Corp-Precoat Metals Div, Portage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, n-Butyl alcohol, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 248,830 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46368NMLPRUSHWY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Nlmk Indiana, Portage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc (fume or dust), Manganese, Lead, Chromium and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 104,698 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46368BTSTL6500S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Us Steel Corp Midwest Plant, Portage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 88,897 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46368MDWSTROUTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
United States Steel Corp Midwest Plant, Portage
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056963282 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.3
Aoc Llc, Valparaiso
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Phthalic anhydride, N,N-Dimethylaniline, Methanol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 74,981 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46383WNSCR2552I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Precoat Metals, Portage
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,900.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000747862 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.7
Powder Processing & Technology, Valparaiso
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Zinc compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 14,696 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46383TTNDV5103E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Pvs Technologies, Inc., Portage
Major air pollution source. Penalties $58,971.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072259078 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Worthington Steel Co, Porter
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Nickel, Lead, Chromium and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,832 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46304WRTHN100WO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Arcelormittal Llc - Burns Harbor Facility, Burns Harbor
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,612,471.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607558 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Sun Cosmetics Llc, Valparaiso
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 257,679 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46383PFZRP4901E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Cathay Pigments Usa Inc, Valparaiso
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $58,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000398267 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Pvs Technologies, Inc., Portage
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $58,971.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072259078 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Monosol - Duneland Plant, Portage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 143,925 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4636WMNSLD15LUI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Natl Park Service Indiana Dunes National Park Indu, Chesterton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,453 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46304SDNPS1100N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Arcelormittal Llc - Burns Harbor Facility, Burns Harbor
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $3,612,471.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607558 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Arcelormittal Llc - Burns Harbor Facility, Burns Harbor
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,612,471.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607558 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Precoat Metals Division Sequa Coatings, Portage
Major air pollution source. Penalties $14,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022938598 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Pvs Technologies Inc., Portage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds. 73,082 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46368MRCNR6300U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Pvs Technologies Inc., Burns Harbor
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. 28,212 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46304MGNTC1111N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Pratt Paper (In) Llc, Valparaiso
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Hydrogen sulfide, Lead And Lead Compounds, Mercury And Mercury Compounds and 1 more. 24,218 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4638WPRTTP35ANT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Nlmk Indiana, Portage
Major air pollution source. Penalties $54,450.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000398212 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3

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 Porter 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 Porter 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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