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Alpena County, Michigan: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Alpena County is 177 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Esophagus deaths at 2.2 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 213 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (45), Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility) (36), Brownfield property (30). 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: 45.0318, -83.6671.

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 Alpena County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	10.3	4.6	2.24xSignificant	6.7 to 15.8	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	8.1	3.7	2.19xSignificant	4.9 to 13.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	51.2	30.2	1.7xSignificant	42.3 to 61.7	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	28.8	18.7	1.54xSignificant	22 to 37.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	78.5	51.8	1.52xSignificant	67.4 to 91.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25.4	17.9	1.42xSignificant	18.2 to 34.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.7	4.8	1.4x	3.9 to 11.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	14.9	11.3	1.32x	10.5 to 21.1	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	16.8	13	1.29x	10.4 to 25.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	177	143.2	1.24xSignificant	160.1 to 195.4	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	491	453.4	1.08xSignificant	460.5 to 523.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.9	18.5	1.08x	14 to 27.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.3	13.9	1.03x	10.2 to 20.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.8	14.5	1.02x	9.7 to 21.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.9	6.6	0.89x	3.4 to 10.2	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.6	8.7	0.87x	4.7 to 12.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.3	23.8	0.73x	12.2 to 24.3	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 Alpena County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,630.7	9,842.6	-22%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	42.7	59.8	-28%	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	77.8	96.9	-20%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde10.03 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3 per million
Acetaldehyde0.94 per million
Benzene0.77 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing45
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)36
Brownfield property30
Air permit holder (minor source)24
Gas station (mapped facility)20
Industrial wastewater discharge15
NPDES wastewater discharge permit13
Small hazardous waste generator7
Hydroelectric plant3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
TRI reporting facility2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
Oil-fired power 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.

Holcim Usa Inc - Lafarge Alpena Plant, Alpena
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015742605 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.6
Holcim (Us) Inc, Alpena
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Vanadium compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Ammonia, Zinc compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,874,502 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 49707LFRGCFORDA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Decorative Panels International, Alpena
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formaldehyde, Acetaldehyde, Propionaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 401,814 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 49707BTBPR416FO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Decorative Panels International, Inc., Alpena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $73,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000412170 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Decorative Panels International, Inc., Alpena
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $73,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000412170 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Holcim Usa Inc - Lafarge Alpena Plant, Alpena
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015742605 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Holcim Usa Inc - Lafarge Alpena Plant, Alpena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015742605 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Holcim Usa Inc - Lafarge Alpena Plant, Alpena
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015742605 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Decorative Panels International, Inc., Alpena
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $73,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000412170 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Alpena County Rgnl, Alpena
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID APN (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Us Dod Usaf Michigan Ang Crtc Alpena, Alpena
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 49707SRFRC5884A (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Besser Co, Alpena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003578815 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Great Lakes Maritime Center, Alpena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022460512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Lees Auto Parts-Alpena, Alpena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070383539 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Alpena Cement Plant, Alpena
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 50305 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Alpena Crtc Michigan Air National Guard, Alpena
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001825197 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Alpena Wwtp, Alpena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009909304 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Decorative Panels Intl, Alpena
Gas power plant.
Record ID 10149 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Superior Fabricating Property, Alpena
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006411267 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Oxbow Park Property, Alpena
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015336331 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Gorski Property, Alpena
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038718162 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Alpena Community College, Alpena
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038718171 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Miller Property, Alpena
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038718180 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Rivers Edge, Alpena
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038722148 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lafarge, North America - Vacant Property, Alpena
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038725109 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 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 Alpena 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 Alpena 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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