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Carlton County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Carlton County is 169.8 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 236 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (76), Industrial wastewater discharge (36), Gas station (mapped facility) (28). 2 correctional facilities operate in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. 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: 46.592, -92.6733.

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 Carlton 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	36.5	23.8	1.53xSignificant	28.7 to 45.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	44.3	30.2	1.47xSignificant	36.4 to 53.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	26.6	18.5	1.44xSignificant	20.3 to 34.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	18.3	13	1.41x	12.5 to 25.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	69.4	51.8	1.34xSignificant	59.3 to 80.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	23.1	18.7	1.24x	17.5 to 30.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.9	11.3	1.23x	9.7 to 19.4	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.6	6.2	1.23x	4.2 to 12.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	169.8	143.2	1.19xSignificant	153.8 to 187.2	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21	17.9	1.17x	15.5 to 28	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	505.2	453.4	1.11xSignificant	476.6 to 535.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.4	13.9	1.04x	10 to 20.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12	14.5	0.83x	8.1 to 17.5	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 Carlton County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,923.2	9,842.6	-20%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.3	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	71	59.8	+19%	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	95.2	96.9	-2%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	28.5	28.6	-0%	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.

Formaldehyde10.73 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.98 per million
Benzene1.05 per million
Acetaldehyde0.97 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 355 days: 294 good, 12 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 33, peak 184.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing76
Industrial wastewater discharge36
Gas station (mapped facility)28
NPDES wastewater discharge permit26
Air permit holder (minor source)14
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)10
Small hazardous waste generator8
Brownfield property7
Major air pollution source4
Hazardous waste transporter4
Hydroelectric plant3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Commercial airport2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Biomass power plant1
Oil-fired power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
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.

Sappi Cloquet Llc, Cloquet
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Hydrogen sulfide, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,840,216 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 55720PTLTCNORTH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Chemstar Products Co, Carlton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Propylene oxide. Reports carcinogens. 1,876 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 55718CHMST131SO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Sappi Cloquet Llc, Cloquet
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426263 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Usg Interiors Llc - Cloquet Mn, Cloquet
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $33,114.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426272 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Usg Interiors Llc - Cloquet Mn, Cloquet
Major air pollution source. Penalties $33,114.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426272 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Chemstar Products Company, Carlton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Fond du Lac Band, Cloquet
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 270177417 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.9
Usg Interiors Llc - Cloquet Mn, Cloquet
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $33,114.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426272 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Usg Interiors Llc - Cloquet Mn, Cloquet
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $33,114.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426272 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Moose Lake, Moose Lake
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1996 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Usg Interiors Llc, Cloquet
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds, Mercury compounds. 9 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 55720SGNTR35ARC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.8
Sappi Cloquet Llc, Cloquet
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426263 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Northern Natural Gas Carlton Compressor, Carlton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003819627 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Northern Natural Gas Co - Wrenshall Lng Plant, Wrenshall
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006048543 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Brenny Dahl Block Company, Cloquet
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008800869 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Big Lake Gun Club, Cloquet
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068790945 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Solem Hotel, Cloquet
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978556 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sunnyside Apartments, Cloquet
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071980717 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lila Angell Property, Cloquet
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985327 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Best Oil Company, Cloquet
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985330 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Egan Property, Cloquet
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072250625 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sappi Cloquet Llc, Cloquet
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426263 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cromwell-Combined Discharge 1, Cromwell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008801109 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Barnum Wwtp, Barnum
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG585142: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Moose Lake Wwtp, Moose Lake
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG585401: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Mn Correctional Facility - Moose Lake, Moose Lake
EPA FRS registry ID
110013084964
Water system
MN1090010
Health-based violations
1 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
10
Contaminants cited
Lead and Copper Rule
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Minnesota Correctional Facility - Moose Lake, Moose Lake
EPA FRS registry ID
110008858646
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Carlton 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 Carlton 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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