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Whitley County, Indiana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Whitley County is 155.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 301 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (81), Industrial wastewater discharge (67), Rail grade crossing (42). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 41.1475, -85.5121.

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 Whitley County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7.2	4.8	1.5x	4.1 to 11.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	24.6	18.5	1.33x	18.2 to 32.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.2	30.2	1.23x	30 to 45.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	61.2	51.8	1.18x	51.6 to 72.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.7	14.5	1.15x	11.6 to 23.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	27.4	23.8	1.15x	20.4 to 36	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.1	18.7	1.13x	15.6 to 28.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	155.4	143.2	1.09x	139.7 to 172.5	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19	17.9	1.06x	13.5 to 26.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	475.5	453.4	1.05x	446.7 to 505.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9	8.7	1.03x	5.5 to 14	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.2	13.9	0.95x	9 to 18.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	7.9	11.3	0.7x	4.8 to 12.6	2020-2024

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 Whitley County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,297.8	9,842.6	-26%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.8	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	35	59.8	-41%	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	62.4	96.9	-36%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	21.3	28.6	-26%	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.

Formaldehyde15.77 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.55 per million
Benzene1.06 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 363 days: 233 good, 2 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 39, peak 108.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit81
Industrial wastewater discharge67
Rail grade crossing42
Combined sewer overflow outfall23
Gas station (mapped facility)15
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)14
TRI reporting facility12
Air permit holder (minor source)10
Small hazardous waste generator8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Brownfield property6
Public airport4
Large hazardous waste generator4
Major air pollution source2
EPA air quality monitor1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Battery storage plant1
Solar power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1
Wastewater plant (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.

Wayne Waste Oil, Columbia City
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 42.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IND048989479 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Steel Dynamics Structural, Columbia City
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $14,949.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009569216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.4
Steel Dynamics Inc Structural & Rail Div, Columbia City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds, Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 92,964 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46725STLDY2601C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Kc Jones Plating, Columbia City
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $27,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000400245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Chromasource Inc, Columbia City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Methyl isobutyl ketone, n-Butyl alcohol, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 27,019 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46725CHRMS2433S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Kc Jones Plating, Columbia City
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $27,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000400245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Chromasource, Inc., Columbia City
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $21,100.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012552512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Reelcraft Industries Inc, Columbia City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Copper, Lead and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 648 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46725RLCRFUSBUS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Essex Furukawa Magnet Wire Usa Llc - Plant #202, Columbia City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Copper, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). 26,810 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46860SSXGRUS30A (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Columbia City Water Department, Columbia City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,125.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010740537 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Micropulse Incorporated, Columbia City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058484448 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Steel Dynamics Structural, Columbia City
Major air pollution source. Penalties $14,949.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009569216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Columbia City Wwtp, Columbia City
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0022624: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 6
Larwill- Whitko Career Academy
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 181830003 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5.8
Reelcraft Industries Incorporated, Columbia City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000400290 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Essex Furukawa Magnet Wire Usa Llc - Plant 202, Columbia City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069445899 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Coupled Products, Llc, Columbia City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042014931 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Micropulse Inc, Columbia City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 31 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4672WMCRPL5865E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Kc Jones Plating, Columbia City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $27,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000400245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Steel Dynamics Structural, Columbia City
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $14,949.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009569216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Steel Dynamics Structural, Columbia City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $14,949.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009569216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Columbia City Mill Services, Columbia City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 2 more. 1,714 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46725DWCLV2374S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
South Whitley Wwtp, South Whitley
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0020567: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 5.4
Fort Wayne Foundry- Columbia City Div. I, Columbia City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000400263 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Columbia City Mill Services, Columbia City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020518563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Whitley County Sheriff'S Office And Detention Center, Columbia City
EPA FRS registry ID
110071404916
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Whitley 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 Whitley 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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