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Chippewa County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Chippewa County is 172.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 177 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (75), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (27), Industrial wastewater discharge (19). 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: 44.9506, -95.5265.

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 Chippewa 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	46.8	23.8	1.97xSignificant	31.7 to 66.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	80.7	51.8	1.56xSignificant	63.7 to 101.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	15.9	11.3	1.41x	8.8 to 27.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	22.7	18.5	1.23x	14 to 35.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	550.1	453.4	1.21xSignificant	500.2 to 603.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	172.1	143.2	1.2xSignificant	146 to 202.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	33.6	30.2	1.11x	23 to 48.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.4	17.9	1.03x	10.6 to 30.6	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 Chippewa County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,322.3	9,842.6	-15%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.6	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	86.4	59.8	+45%	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	99.8	96.9	+3%	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.

Formaldehyde12.57 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.06 per million
Benzene0.8 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing75
NPDES wastewater discharge permit27
Industrial wastewater discharge19
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Air permit holder (minor source)14
Solar power plant8
Small hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Public airport2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
Hydroelectric 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.

Granite Falls Energy Llc, Granite Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, Ammonia, n-Hexane, Methanol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 84,076 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56241GRNTF1545H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Granite Falls Energy Llc, Granite Falls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020653808 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Vishay Hirels Systems - Montevideo, Montevideo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 5626WVSHYH22BLA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Montevideo Wwtp, Montevideo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039738530 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Friendship Homes Of Minnesota, Montevideo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003834780 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Granite Falls Energy Llc, Granite Falls
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020653808 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Vishay Hirels Systems - Montevideo, Montevideo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071433641 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Granite Falls Energy Llc, Granite Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020653808 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Clara City Wwtp, Clara City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008804419 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Granite Falls Energy Llc, Granite Falls
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020653808 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Friendship Homes Of Minnesota, Montevideo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates.
TRI facility ID 5626WFRNDS815BU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Granite Falls Wwtp, Granite Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006739360 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Milan Wwtp, Milan
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG585141: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
Watson Wwtp, Watson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008803526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Maynard Wwtp, Maynard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008804375 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Milan Wwtp, Milan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069186972 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Montevideo-Chippewa County, Montevideo
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID MVE (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Granite Falls Redi-Mix, Granite Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008804641 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Xcel Energy - Minnesota Valley, Granite Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007316109 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tebben Manufacturing Co Inc, Clara City
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008679821 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Chippewa Co Highway Dept - Miller Pit, Sparta Township
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014443557 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rosendahl Feedlots, Clara City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021310730 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Scott Roelofs Farm, Raymond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067832607 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sj Miller Hogs W, Clara City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067839129 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ben Ulferts Farm, Raymond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067887077 (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 Chippewa 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 Chippewa 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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