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Wells County, Indiana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Wells County is 159.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 322 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (93), Rail grade crossing (85), Industrial wastewater discharge (73). 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: 40.7426, -85.2027.

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 Wells County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38.5	30.2	1.27xSignificant	30.3 to 48.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	159.3	143.2	1.11x	141.6 to 178.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.8	17.9	1.11x	13.5 to 28.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.9	8.7	1.02x	4.9 to 15	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23	23.8	0.97x	16.4 to 31.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.4	18.7	0.88x	11.2 to 23.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	392.5	453.4	0.87x	363.6 to 423.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	43.4	51.8	0.84x	34.6 to 53.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11	14.5	0.76x	6.5 to 17.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.6	18.5	0.74x	8.7 to 20.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	9.1	13.9	0.65x	5.2 to 15.1	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 Wells County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,314.2	9,842.6	-26%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.7	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	52.9	59.8	-12%	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	74.4	96.9	-23%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	17.7	28.6	-38%	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.

Formaldehyde15.93 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.59 per million
Benzene0.99 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit93
Rail grade crossing85
Industrial wastewater discharge73
Combined sewer overflow outfall24
TRI reporting facility7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Air permit holder (minor source)6
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Major air pollution source4
Public airport4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Brownfield property2
Heliport2
Large hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Gas 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.

Matalco Llc - Bluffton, Bluffton
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $43,300.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037103675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.5
Valero Bluffton Plant, Bluffton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Formic acid, Acrolein and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 111,008 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4671WGRNPL1441S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Matalco Bluffton Llc, Bluffton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, Lead, Chromium and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 57,320 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4671WLXNLL139SU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Valero Bluffton Plant, Bluffton
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $20,975.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058503132 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.1
Matalco Llc - Bluffton, Bluffton
Major air pollution source. Penalties $43,300.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037103675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Matalco Llc - Bluffton, Bluffton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $43,300.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037103675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Bluffton Motor Works Llc, Bluffton
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000400174 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Matalco Llc - Bluffton, Bluffton
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $43,300.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037103675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Bluffton Wwtp, Bluffton
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0022411: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 6
Montpelier Wwtp, Montpelier
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0020117: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 5.8
Ossian Wwtp, Town Of, Ossian
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0020745: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 5.6
Bluffton Motor Works Llc, Bluffton
Major air pollution source. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000400174 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Valero Bluffton Plant, Bluffton
Major air pollution source. Penalties $20,975.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058503132 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Bluffton Motor Works Llc, Bluffton
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000400174 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Bluffton Motor Works Llc, Bluffton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000400174 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Pretzels Incorporated, Bluffton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $20,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012035706 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Valero Bluffton Plant, Bluffton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $20,975.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058503132 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Bluffton Wastewater Treatment Facility, Bluffton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000544260 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Valero Bluffton Plant, Bluffton
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $20,975.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058503132 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Weg Electric Corp., Bluffton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Manganese, Lead and 1 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 46714FRNKL400ES (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Inteva Products-Bluffton Operations, Bluffton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071732293 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Brc Rubber & Plastics Incorporated, Bluffton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058690929 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.1
Adm Animal Nutrition Inc, Bluffton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000400192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Montpelier Electric Generating Station, Poneto
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021089061 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Metaldyne Corporation, Bluffton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110029240033 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4

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 Wells 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 Wells 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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