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St. Joseph County, Indiana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in St. Joseph County is 164.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Pancreas deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,314 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (384), Industrial wastewater discharge (270), Rail grade crossing (141). 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: 41.5979, -86.2735.

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 St. Joseph County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	Deaths	15	11.3	1.33xSignificant	13.1 to 17	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.9	30.2	1.25xSignificant	35 to 41	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5.1	4.1	1.24x	4.1 to 6.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.2	3.4	1.24x	3.2 to 5.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.8	4.8	1.21x	4.7 to 7.1	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	4.4	3.7	1.19x	3.5 to 5.5	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.3	4.6	1.15x	4.2 to 6.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	164.8	143.2	1.15xSignificant	158.6 to 171.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15.8	13.9	1.14x	13.9 to 17.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	58.3	51.8	1.13xSignificant	54.7 to 62.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.6	6.2	1.06x	5.4 to 8.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.9	18.7	1.06x	17.8 to 22.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.1	2	1.05x	1.4 to 2.9	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.9	5.7	1.04x	4.8 to 7.3	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.5	4.4	1.02x	3.5 to 5.7	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	6.3	6.6	0.95x	5.2 to 7.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	418.7	453.4	0.92x	408.5 to 429	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.5	17.9	0.92x	14.5 to 18.7	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	14.8	16.4	0.9x	10.5 to 20.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.8	6.6	0.88x	4.7 to 7.1	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.2	2.7	0.81x	1.5 to 3.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.9	18.5	0.81x	13 to 16.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.8	8.7	0.78x	5.6 to 8.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.1	13	0.78x	8.5 to 12	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11.2	14.5	0.77x	9.6 to 13.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	13.2	23.8	0.55x	11.4 to 15.2	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 St. Joseph County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,845.8	9,842.6	+0%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.1	75.3	-0%	years
Child mortality	67.8	59.8	+13%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.2	6.2	+32%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	84.7	96.9	-13%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	33.8	28.6	+18%	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.

Formaldehyde16.12 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.51 per million
Naphthalene1.3 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 241 good, 7 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 43, peak 127.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,314 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit384
Industrial wastewater discharge270
Rail grade crossing141
Gas station (mapped facility)101
Combined sewer overflow outfall62
Small hazardous waste generator53
Brownfield property47
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)43
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)42
Air permit holder (minor source)38
TRI reporting facility35
Major air pollution source23
Large hazardous waste generator19
Hazardous waste transporter11
Scrapyard (mapped facility)9
Public airport6
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)6
Large greenhouse gas emitter5
EPA air quality monitor3
Heliport3
Solar power plant3
Superfund (NPL) site3
Gas power plant2
Airfield1
Commercial airport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Biomass power plant1
Hydroelectric 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.

South Bend Ethanol, Llc., South Bend
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $332,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000399970 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Douglas Road/Uniroyal, Inc., Landfill, Mishawaka
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 36.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IND980607881 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Beck's Lake, South Bend
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IND980904379 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Galen Myers Dump/Drum Salvage, Osceola
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 42.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IND980999635 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Pioneer Metal Finishing Llc., Nimet Division, South Bend
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $12,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054813733 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.8
Sampson Fiberglass Inc., Mishawaka
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 262,653 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46545SMPSN2424H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Molding Products Llc, South Bend
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Zinc compounds. Reports carcinogens. 252,120 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46619MLDNG1545S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Royal Adhesives And Sealants Llc, South Bend
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $14,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000399925 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Royal Adhesives & Sealants, South Bend
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers), Cyclohexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 106,685 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46628BRNCR2001W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Ultra/Glas Of Lakeville Inc, Lakeville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 51,225 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46536LTRGL520IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Honeywell Aerospace South Bend, South Bend
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene, Benzene, Copper, Nitric acid. Reports carcinogens. 41,689 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46624LLDSG3520W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
South Bend Ethanol Llc, South Bend
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, Acrolein, Methanol, n-Hexane and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 39,965 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46680NWNRG3201W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Jackel Inc, Mishawaka
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 38,773 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46546JCKLN15214 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Edcoat Llc, New Carlisle
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Naphthalene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 37,888 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46552DCTLT30350 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Janco Engineered Products Llc, Mishawaka
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 21,938 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4654WJNCNG1217E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
I/N Kote, New Carlisle
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 11,484 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46552NTKXX30755 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Edcoat Llc, New Carlisle
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $11,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000399453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
South Bend Ethanol, Llc., South Bend
Major air pollution source. Penalties $332,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000399970 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Honeywell International Inc, South Bend
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000497105 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Polygon Co, Walkerton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 3,177 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46574PSSTL103IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
South Bend Ethanol, Llc., South Bend
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $332,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000399970 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Tri-Pac Incorporated Kenmore, South Bend
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $67,936.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070207208 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Unifrax Corporation, New Carlisle
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001306257 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Imagineering Enterprises Llc, South Bend
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Nickel compounds, Nickel And Nickel Compounds. Reports carcinogens. 1,453 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46619MGNRN1302W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Sapa Extrusions North America, Inc, North Liberty
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000399499 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8

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 St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph 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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