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Allegan County, Michigan: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Allegan County is 162.4 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 563 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (116), Rail grade crossing (105), Gas station (mapped facility) (62). 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: 42.5939, -85.8846.

How this county ranks in Michigan

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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 Allegan 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	1.8 to 4.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.9	3.4	1.44x	3.4 to 6.8	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	5.2	3.7	1.41x	3.7 to 7.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.7	4.4	1.3x	4.1 to 7.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7	5.7	1.23x	5.2 to 9.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	35.4	30.2	1.17xSignificant	31.4 to 39.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	162.4	143.2	1.13xSignificant	153.4 to 171.9	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.4	6.6	1.12x	5.6 to 9.7	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.1	4.6	1.11x	3.6 to 7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25.2	23.8	1.06x	21.5 to 29.4	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.3	4.1	1.05x	2.9 to 6.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5	4.8	1.04x	3.5 to 6.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	53.3	51.8	1.03x	48.4 to 58.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.2	18.7	1.03x	16.2 to 22.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.3	6.2	1.02x	4.5 to 8.6	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.5	6.6	0.98x	4.8 to 8.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11	11.3	0.97x	8.8 to 13.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.4	17.9	0.97x	14.4 to 20.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.2	18.5	0.93x	14.3 to 20.5	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	14.9	16.4	0.91x	8.6 to 23.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	405.3	453.4	0.89x	390.8 to 420.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12	13.9	0.86x	9.7 to 14.7	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.3	2.7	0.85x	1.3 to 3.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.4	8.7	0.85x	5.6 to 9.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.1	14.5	0.83x	9.6 to 15	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	9.5	13	0.73x	7.2 to 12.3	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 Allegan County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,999.5	9,842.6	-29%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.6	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	42.3	59.8	-29%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.5	6.2	-27%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	78.3	96.9	-19%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	14.7	28.6	-49%	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.

Formaldehyde14.63 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.37 per million
Benzene0.99 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 363 days: 232 good, 14 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 44, peak 151.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit116
Rail grade crossing105
Gas station (mapped facility)62
Industrial wastewater discharge62
Brownfield property53
Air permit holder (minor source)46
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)23
Small hazardous waste generator19
TRI reporting facility19
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)11
Large hazardous waste generator11
Public airport8
Major air pollution source7
Heliport4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Hazardous waste transporter3
Gas power plant3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Hydroelectric plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Jbs Plainwell, Inc., Plainwell
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $96,271.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000409344 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Rockwell International Corp. (Allegan Plant), Allegan
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 52.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MID006028062 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Sherwin-Williams Co, Holland
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $379,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000410494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
Darling Ingredients Inc., Hamilton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001825179 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.3
Otsego Paper Inc, Otsego
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000409291 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.2
Tiara Yachts Inc, Holland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 277,322 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 49423SYCHT725EA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Jbs Plainwell, Plainwell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Peracetic acid. 11,606,013 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 49080MRCNC11ELE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Advanced Architectural Products, Hamilton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 61,658 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4941WDVNCD3393M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Sherwin-Williams Co, Holland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Cyclohexane, Ethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 37,346 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 49423GRDSM636E4 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Lg Energy Solution Michigan Inc., Holland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Nickel compounds, Manganese compounds, Cobalt compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 29,820 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4942WLGCHM1LGWA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Sekisui Kydex Llc, Holland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 11,290 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 49423LLNXT1305L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Sherwin-Williams Co, Holland
Major air pollution source. Penalties $379,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000410494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Darling Ingredients Inc., Hamilton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Methanol. 688,727 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4941WDRLNG59LDA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Parker Hannifin-Otsego, Otsego
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000409308 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Sherwin-Williams Co, Holland
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $379,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000410494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Sherwin-Williams Co, Holland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $379,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000410494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Drug & Laboratory Disposal Inc, Plainwell
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $10,245.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000614461 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Lg Energy Solution Michigan Inc., Holland
Major air pollution source. Penalties $327,334.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046597884 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Middleville Engineered Solutions Llc, Middleville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 1,109 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4933WMDDLV19PAT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Autokiniton Plant 3, Holland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Chromium, Lead and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,095 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4942WLWNCX88E32 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Otsego Paper Inc., Otsego
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead compounds. 87,059 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 49078MNSHC320NF (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Tiara Yachts, Holland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000410626 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Lg Chem Michigan Inc, Holland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044813137 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
Uniform Color Co, Holland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Antimony compounds, Aluminum (fume or dust), Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 452 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 49423NFRMC942BR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Otsego Paper Inc, Otsego
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000409291 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5

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 Allegan County

Michigan 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 Allegan County, and their findings.
Michigan vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Michigan health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Michigan 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.
Michigan 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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