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Mason County, Michigan: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Mason County is 170.5 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 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 201 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (55), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (29), Industrial wastewater discharge (27). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 43.9954, -86.2596.

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 Mason County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	Deaths	9.2	5.7	1.61x	5.7 to 14.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	44.9	30.2	1.49xSignificant	36.8 to 54.7	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	32.6	23.8	1.37xSignificant	25 to 42.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	62.8	51.8	1.21xSignificant	53.2 to 74.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	170.5	143.2	1.19xSignificant	153.6 to 189.1	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	21.3	18.7	1.14x	15.9 to 28.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.4	11.3	1.1x	8.4 to 18.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	459.9	453.4	1.01x	430.6 to 490.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.6	17.9	0.98x	12.2 to 24.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.9	6.6	0.89x	3.4 to 10.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	12.9	14.5	0.89x	8.3 to 19.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12	13.9	0.86x	7.8 to 18.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.8	18.5	0.85x	10.9 to 22.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	5.6	8.7	0.64x	3.1 to 9.8	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 Mason County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,894.8	9,842.6	-10%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.5	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	39.2	59.8	-34%	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	104	96.9	+7%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	27.3	28.6	-5%	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.

Formaldehyde11.08 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.99 per million
Acetaldehyde1.03 per million
Benzene0.78 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 213 days: 190 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 87.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing55
NPDES wastewater discharge permit29
Industrial wastewater discharge27
Brownfield property21
Gas station (mapped facility)20
Air permit holder (minor source)13
Small hazardous waste generator7
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Major air pollution source3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Hazardous waste transporter2
TRI reporting facility2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
Pumped storage plant1
Wind 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.

Great Lakes Castings Llc, Ludington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Manganese compounds, Lead, Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 9,057 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 49431GRTLK800NW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Occidental Chemical Corp, Ludington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 126,885 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 49431THDWCSOUTH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
The Dow Chemical Company- Ludington, Mi Plant, Ludington
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000410742 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Ludington Wwtp, Ludington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000733252 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
House Of Flavors, Ludington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitric acid. 6,006 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4943WHSFFL19NWI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Great Lakes Castings Llc, Ludington
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000410724 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Custer Wwsl, Custer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009910891 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Oomen Bros Hogs - Cafo, Hart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022915504 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Dandy Farms-Cafo, Fountain
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022915513 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Oomen Farms Ltd-Cafo, Pentwater
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028132321 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Elmers Concrete Of Ludington, Ludington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067606861 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Evoqua Water Technologies-Ludington, Ludington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071068620 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Stp No. 2 Gwcu-Ludington, Ludington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006739789 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Great Lakes Castings Llc, Ludington
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000410724 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
The Dow Chemical Company- Ludington, Mi Plant, Ludington
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000410742 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Michigan Power Limited Partnership (N4975), Ludington
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001826775 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Great Lakes Castings Llc, Ludington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000410724 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Michigan Power Lp, Ludington
Gas power plant.
Record ID 54915 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.1
Blue Ribbon Cleaners, Ludington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003672507 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old School House, Scottville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038694703 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Stearns Valley, Ludington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038694712 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sugar Grove Market, Scottville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038694721 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lr Pow Wow Grounds, Manistee
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038700304 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Fomer Shell Gas Station Property, Custer
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038701964 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Healy Dodge Properties, Ludington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038712471 (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.

Mi Dept/Corrections, Freesoil
EPA FRS registry ID
110003682854
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Mason 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 Mason 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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