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Benzie County, Michigan: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Benzie County is 146.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 64 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Brownfield property (15), Gas station (mapped facility) (11), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (11). 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: 44.6463, -86.0351.

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 Benzie County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	32.1	23.8	1.35x	22.9 to 44.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	23.9	18.5	1.29x	15.6 to 35.5	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	16.3	13	1.25x	8.9 to 27.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	36.1	30.2	1.2x	27.4 to 47.5	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	21.7	18.7	1.16x	15.2 to 30.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	59.8	51.8	1.15x	47.9 to 74.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	497.6	453.4	1.1xSignificant	459.3 to 538.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	146.8	143.2	1.03x	127.6 to 168.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	13.6	13.9	0.98x	8.4 to 21.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.9	17.9	0.89x	9.7 to 25.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10	11.3	0.88x	6 to 17	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	11.5	14.5	0.79x	6.5 to 19.7	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 Benzie County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,354.1	9,842.6	-5%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.1	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	102.3	96.9	+6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	25.7	28.6	-10%	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.

Formaldehyde10.06 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.98 per million
Acetaldehyde0.94 per million
Benzene0.72 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 214 days: 195 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 35, peak 80.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Brownfield property15
Gas station (mapped facility)11
NPDES wastewater discharge permit11
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Industrial wastewater discharge6
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Public airport2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
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.

Crystal Mountain Resort, Thompsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013126697 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Betsie Lake Ua Wwtp, Frankfort
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006740063 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Precision Collision, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009597276 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lion'S Club, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039531762 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
City Hall, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039531780 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Dpw Garage, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039531806 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Mills Property, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039531824 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Riley Cold Storage Facility, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039531842 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
D & R Automotive, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039533010 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Phillips 66 Station, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039533038 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Garment Property, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039533065 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Garage, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039533109 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Smith Residence, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039533118 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Charter Residence, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039533145 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Vacant Industrial Park, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039535045 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former City Landfill, Frankfort
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039551197 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Gilmore Township Hall, Elberta
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970516 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lake Ann Airway Estates, Traverse City
Public airport. O.
Record ID 4M0 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Thompsonville, Thompsonville
Public airport. O.
Record ID 7Y2 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Frankfort Dow Meml Fld, Frankfort
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID FKS (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/772822736 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Beulah-Benzonia Sewage Disposal Ponds
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/772822739 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/892411715 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/911279114 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Benzie Co Road Comm, Honor
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003606633 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Benzie 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 Benzie 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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