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Kalkaska County, Michigan: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Kalkaska County is 206.3 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 2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 118 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (35), Air permit holder (minor source) (29), Gas station (mapped facility) (16). 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: 44.6847, -85.0916.

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 Kalkaska County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	12.9	4.6	2.8xSignificant	7.6 to 21.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	60.4	30.2	2xSignificant	47.8 to 75.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	102	51.8	1.97xSignificant	85.7 to 121	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	206.3	143.2	1.44xSignificant	181.8 to 233.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25.5	17.9	1.42x	16.6 to 37.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.2	8.7	1.29x	6.6 to 18.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	22.4	18.7	1.2x	15 to 32.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.5	18.5	1.16x	13.7 to 32.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	496.4	453.4	1.09xSignificant	457.5 to 538	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.6	23.8	0.99x	15.3 to 35.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14	14.5	0.97x	7.6 to 23.8	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 Kalkaska County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,139	9,842.6	-7%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.7	75.3	-1%	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	95.5	96.9	-1%	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.

Formaldehyde10.61 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1 per million
Benzene0.75 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing35
Air permit holder (minor source)29
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Major air pollution source7
Hazardous waste transporter5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Small hazardous waste generator4
Brownfield property3
Public airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Industrial wastewater discharge2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
NPDES wastewater discharge permit2
Large hazardous waste generator1
Gas power plant1
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.

Illinois Tool Works Coding Products Div, Kalkaska
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Methanol. 318,875 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 49646CDNGP111WP (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Kalkaska Gas Plant, Kalkaska
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Benzene, Toluene, Cyclohexane and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 935 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4964WKLKSK11PRU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Coding Products Div Of Itw Inc, Kalkaska
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041036544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Kalkaska Gas Plant, Kalkaska
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071428685 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Wayne Wire Cloth Prod, Kalkaska
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001845978 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Anr Storage Company - Excelsior Compressor Station (B7196), Kalkaska
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001840447 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Anr -- Rapid River Compressor Station (B7197), Kalkaska
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001840456 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Anr Pipeline-Cold Springs12 /Blue Lake/ Cold Springs 1 (B7198), Mancelona
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013860526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Michigan Public Power Agency, Kalkaska
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022936242 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kalkaska Ct Project #1, Kalkaska
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028028088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Coding Products Div Of Itw Inc, Kalkaska
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041036544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Dte Gas Company - Kalkaska Compressor Station (N3341), Kalkaska
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828168 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kalkaska Ct #1, Kalkaska
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7984 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Howard Collision, Kalkaska
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983245 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hogerheide-Hamlet Housing, Kalkaska
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983246 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Kalkaska Municipal Garage, Kalkaska
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983247 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Coding Products Div Of Itw Inc, Kalkaska
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041036544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Anr Pipeline-Cold Springs12 /Blue Lake/ Cold Springs 1 (B7198), Mancelona
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013860526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Merit Energy Company-Kalkaska Gas Plant, Kalkaska
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043783340 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Merit Energy Company - Ricci 19 (Blue Lk, Kalkaska
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $131,367.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020903815 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Kalkaska City, Kalkaska
Public airport. O.
Record ID Y89 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/687377019 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Anr Pipeline Company, Mancelona
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003564731 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mi Dept/Transportation, Kalkaska
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003625364 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wayne Wire Cloth Products Inc, Kalkaska
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046087943 (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 Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska 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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