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Big Stone County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Big Stone County is 188.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 101 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (52), Industrial wastewater discharge (17), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (12). 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: 45.3825, -96.3344.

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 Big Stone County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	188.2	143.2	1.31xSignificant	145.3 to 241.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	506.4	453.4	1.12x	431 to 592.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	40.7	51.8	0.79x	23.4 to 68.7	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 Big Stone County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,303.7	9,842.6	-16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.5	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	87.3	96.9	-10%	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.

Formaldehyde12.25 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.01 per million
Benzene0.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing52
Industrial wastewater discharge17
NPDES wastewater discharge permit12
Air permit holder (minor source)10
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Heliport2
Commercial airport1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Odessa Wwtp, Odessa
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG585099: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Odessa Wwtp, Odessa Township
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068069921 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Lg Everist Inc, Ortonville
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MN0068764: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
Ortonville-Treatment Plant #2, Ortonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006738628 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Big Stone Hutterite Colony, Graceville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110052322820 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Clinton Wwtp, Clinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068669202 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Ortonville Muni/Martinson Fld, Ortonville
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID VVV (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Graceville Wwtp, Graceville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068201797 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Bituminous Paving Inc - Cedar Rapids, Ortonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007616393 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Clinton, Clinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008804026 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Jasper Stone Company, Ortonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034124962 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Prairie Pride Of Big Stone, Clinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068543366 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tom Arens Farm, Graceville Township
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068843336 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Diekmann Farms Inc - Site 3, Beardsley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068876504 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lismore Hutterian Brethren Inc, Clinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069015354 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
260th Ave Sw, Correll
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 393582R (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Pvt Xing, Correll
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 393583X (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
580th Ave, Correll
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 393584E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
590th Ave, Correll
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 393585L (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Pvt Xing, Correll
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 393586T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
597th Ave S, Correll
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 393587A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
600th Ave S, Correll
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 393588G (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
610th Ave, Correll
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 393589N (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
615th Ave, Correll
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 393590H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
620th Ave, Correll
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 393591P (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3

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 Big Stone 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 Big Stone 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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