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Cass County, Michigan: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cass County is 170.9 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 173 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (63), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (24), Gas station (mapped facility) (22). 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: 41.9112, -85.9918.

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 Cass County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	42.5	30.2	1.41xSignificant	36.4 to 49.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7.4	5.7	1.3x	4.8 to 11	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5.1	4.1	1.24x	3.1 to 8.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8	6.6	1.21x	5.3 to 11.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	170.9	143.2	1.19xSignificant	158 to 184.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.2	13.9	1.17x	12.3 to 21.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	58.6	51.8	1.13x	51.3 to 66.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.8	18.5	1.12x	16.2 to 26.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.6	11.3	1.12x	9.4 to 16.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5	4.8	1.04x	3.1 to 8	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	18.3	18.7	0.98x	14.2 to 23.3	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	12.2	13	0.94x	8.2 to 17.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	416.6	453.4	0.92x	395.2 to 438.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.1	14.5	0.9x	9.4 to 18	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.5	8.7	0.86x	4.9 to 11.2	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5	6.2	0.81x	2.9 to 8.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17	23.8	0.71x	12.5 to 22.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	12	17.9	0.67x	8.5 to 16.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	4	6.6	0.61x	2.2 to 6.8	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 Cass County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,385.3	9,842.6	-5%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.1	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	51.3	59.8	-14%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.6	6.2	+22%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	86.9	96.9	-10%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	16.2	28.6	-43%	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.

Formaldehyde15.39 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.45 per million
Benzene1.02 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 224 days: 191 good, 2 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 40, peak 115.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing63
NPDES wastewater discharge permit24
Gas station (mapped facility)22
Air permit holder (minor source)15
Industrial wastewater discharge13
TRI reporting facility7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Small hazardous waste generator5
Hazardous waste transporter4
Major air pollution source2
Public airport2
Large hazardous waste generator2
EPA air quality monitor1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
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.

U.S. Aviex, Howard Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 33.7. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MID980794556 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Postle Extrusions, Cassopolis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 43,319 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4903WPSTLX21NRT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
The Mennel Milling Company Of Michigan, Dowagiac
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000754504 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Cht Usa Inc., Cassopolis
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $13,313.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061907218 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Postle Aluminum (P0448), Cassopolis
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061850420 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Dowagiac Wwtp, Dowagiac
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009027258 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Cht Usa Inc., Cassopolis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $13,313.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061907218 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Postle Operating Llc, Cassopolis
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $14,513.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054842211 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Mercury Displacement Industries Inc., Edwardsburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Mercury, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 49112MRCRY2528U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Autocam, Dowagiac
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 2 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4904WTCMXX21PEB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
The Mennel Milling Company Of Michigan, Dowagiac
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000754504 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Creative Foam Corp-Dowagiac, Dowagiac
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003608613 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Creative Foam Corp-Dowagiac, Dowagiac
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003608613 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Southern Michigan Rubber, Three Rivers
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009026231 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Marcellus Wwsl, Marcellus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009911186 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Churchill Finishers-Cafo, Cassopolis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040768648 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Patterson Hill Farm-Cafo, Jones
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040768700 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mckenzie Reed Farms-Cafo, Marcellus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041271156 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Davis Farms-Cafo, White Pigeon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041271263 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Scott Mckenzie Farms-Cafo, Marcellus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041950626 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Axium Group Llc (A0703), Cassopolis
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042285390 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Davis Pork-Cafo, Vandalia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063888217 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mobile Facility Engineering, Cassopolis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071320081 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Michigan Die Castings, Dowagiac
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Lead, Copper. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 49047SLDPW51241 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Midwest Timber Inc, Edwardsburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Arsenic compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 49112MDWST210KR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5

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 Cass 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 Cass 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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