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Ontonagon County, Michigan: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ontonagon County is 142.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 123 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (61), Industrial wastewater discharge (27), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (15). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 10 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: 46.7159, -89.3641.

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 Ontonagon County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	43.8	30.2	1.45x	30.2 to 68.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	142.3	143.2	0.99x	116.7 to 177.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	40.5	51.8	0.78x	27.8 to 65.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	334	453.4	0.74x	286 to 392	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 Ontonagon County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,371	9,842.6	+36%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.1	75.3	-3%	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	117.6	96.9	+21%	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: 10 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde8.24 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.99 per million
Acetaldehyde0.81 per million
Benzene0.56 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing61
Industrial wastewater discharge27
NPDES wastewater discharge permit15
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Major air pollution source3
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Hydroelectric 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.

Mcmillan Twp Wwsl, Ewen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009026703 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ontonagon Regional Wtp, White Pine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009910169 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Rockland Twp Wwsl, Rockland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009911015 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Interior Twp Wwsl, Trout Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009911024 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ontonagon Wwsl, Ontonagon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064507243 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Greenland Twp Wwsl, Mass City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009911006 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Carp Lake Twp Wwsl, White Pine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013739776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
K & W Landfill Inc, Ontonagon
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013838375 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Smurfit-Stone Container Enterp Rises Inc, Ontonagon
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017409829 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
White Pine Copper Refinery Inc, White Pine
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027227114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Bergland Food Store Site Rehabilitation, Bergland
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978955 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
White Pine Copper Refinery Inc, White Pine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027227114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Ontonagon Wwsl, Ontonagon
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit MIG580277: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Carp Lake Twp Wwsl, White Pine
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MIG580382: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Stannard Twp Wwsl, Bruce Crossing
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MIG580343: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Mdnr-Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Ontonagon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007580929 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
K & W Landfill Inc, Ontonagon
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013838375 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
White Pine Electric Power Llc, White Pine
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025332030 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Stannard Twp Wwsl, Bruce Crossing
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071711506 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Ontonagon County/Schuster Fld, Ontonagon
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID OGM (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1061870085 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Copper Range Co, White Pine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001130534 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bergland Twp Wwsl, Bergland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009910659 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
White Pine Electric Power Llc, White Pine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025332030 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lake Shore Systems-Ontonagon Facility, Ontonagon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070216381 (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 Ontonagon 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 Ontonagon 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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