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Becker County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Becker County is 131.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 216 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (78), Industrial wastewater discharge (29), Gas station (mapped facility) (27). 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: 46.9313, -95.6683.

How this county ranks in Minnesota

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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 Becker 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	52.9	23.8	2.22xSignificant	43 to 64.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	23.2	13	1.78xSignificant	16.3 to 31.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	26.3	18.7	1.41xSignificant	20.3 to 33.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23	17.9	1.28x	16.8 to 30.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	519.1	453.4	1.14xSignificant	489.5 to 550.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7	6.2	1.13x	3.8 to 12	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	57.2	51.8	1.1x	48.6 to 67.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.8	5.7	1.02x	3.2 to 10.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.5	18.5	1x	13.2 to 25.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.1	14.5	0.97x	9.6 to 20.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.5	30.2	0.94x	22.6 to 35.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	131.4	143.2	0.92x	117.6 to 146.4	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.4	6.6	0.82x	3 to 9.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.2	11.3	0.81x	6 to 13.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	10.6	13.9	0.76x	7 to 15.7	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 Becker County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,442.4	9,842.6	-24%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.9	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	44.3	59.8	-26%	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	87.4	96.9	-10%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	13.3	28.6	-53%	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.

Formaldehyde11.6 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Benzene1.04 per million
Acetaldehyde0.96 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 315 days: 233 good, 11 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 38, peak 185.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing78
Industrial wastewater discharge29
Gas station (mapped facility)27
NPDES wastewater discharge permit21
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)15
Air permit holder (minor source)11
Small hazardous waste generator6
TRI reporting facility5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Airfield3
Brownfield property3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Public airport2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Oil-fired 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.

Btd Manufacturing Inc, Detroit Lakes
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 212 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5656WBTDMN11111 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
FWS Wetland Management District, Detroit Lakes
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 270052013 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 6
S J Electro Systems Inc, Detroit Lakes
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Mercury. Reports carcinogens. 11 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56502SJLCT22650 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Btd Manufacturing Inc, Detroit Lakes
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057268727 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Callaway Wwtp, Callaway
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008796981 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Team Industries Dl, Detroit Lakes
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Copper. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 56501TMNDS1551R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Team Industries-Audubon, Audubon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 56511TMNDSFRTHR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
S J Electro Systems Inc, Detroit Lakes
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006047401 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.2
Detroit Lakes, Detroit Lakes
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1970 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Purina Animal Nutrition Llc - Detroit Lakes, Detroit Lakes
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427404 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Team Industries - Detroit Lakes, Detroit Lakes
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003900100 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Team Industries-Audubon, Audubon
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018920676 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ponsford Wwsl, Ponsford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011114114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
White Earth Wwsl, White Earth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014423230 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Big Rice Lake Wwsl, White Earth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031271433 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Detroit Lakes Wwtp, Detroit Lakes
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039745256 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Audubon Wwtp, Audubon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008801724 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Former Swift Ekrich Turkey, Frazee
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015337036 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Gary'S Furniture, Frazee
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067659803 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Anstadt-Furey Properties, Frazee
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981961 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lake Park Wwtp, Lake Park
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG585157: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Purina Animal Nutrition Llc - Detroit Lakes, Detroit Lakes
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 56501LNDLK11101 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Forest Hills Golf & Rv Resort Wwtp, Detroit Lakes
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008802652 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
White Earth Wwsl, White Earth
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit MN0064173: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Ponsford Wwsl, Ponsford
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit MN0059439: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4

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 Becker County

Minnesota 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 Becker County, and their findings.
Minnesota vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Minnesota health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Minnesota 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.
Minnesota 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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