MN / county FIPS 27027 / county research

Clay County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Clay County is 137.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 401 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (161), Industrial wastewater discharge (56), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (34). 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: 46.8906, -96.4731.

How this county ranks in Minnesota

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Clay 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	57.9	23.8	2.43xSignificant	49.8 to 66.9	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	19.1	13	1.47xSignificant	14.5 to 24.8	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	6.5	4.6	1.41x	4.1 to 9.8	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.2	6.2	1.32x	5.3 to 11.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.6	17.9	1.21x	16.8 to 27.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	537.4	453.4	1.19xSignificant	512.6 to 563	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.9	18.7	1.17x	17.2 to 27.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21	18.5	1.14x	16.4 to 26.6	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.2	3.7	1.14x	2.4 to 6.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	56.2	51.8	1.08x	48.5 to 64.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	32.7	30.2	1.08x	26.9 to 39.4	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.1	6.6	1.08x	4.5 to 10.6	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	14.7	14.5	1.01x	10.9 to 19.4	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.6	6.6	1x	4.1 to 9.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	137.8	143.2	0.96x	125.6 to 150.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	13.2	13.9	0.95x	9.7 to 17.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.3	5.7	0.93x	3.2 to 8.4	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.8	8.7	0.9x	5.1 to 11.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.9	11.3	0.88x	6.9 to 13.8	2020-2024

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 Clay County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,319.1	9,842.6	-26%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	55.4	59.8	-7%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.7	6.2	-25%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	69.1	96.9	-29%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	20.9	28.6	-27%	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.

Formaldehyde13.03 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.99 per million
Benzene1.38 per million
Acetaldehyde1.11 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing161
Industrial wastewater discharge56
NPDES wastewater discharge permit34
Gas station (mapped facility)29
Air permit holder (minor source)27
Brownfield property27
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)18
Small hazardous waste generator11
Public airport6
Major air pollution source5
Solar power plant5
Scrapyard (mapped facility)4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Wind power plant3
Hazardous waste transporter2
TRI reporting facility2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Coal power plant1
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.

American Crystal Sugar - Moorhead, Moorhead
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $48,572.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427440 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
American Crystal Sugar Co, Moorhead
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Methanol, Formaldehyde, Acetaldehyde and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,254,381 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56560MRCNC2500N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.2
American Crystal Sugar - Moorhead, Moorhead
Major air pollution source. Penalties $48,572.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427440 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Busch Agricultural Resources Llc, Moorhead
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 7,129 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56560BSCHG21012 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
American Crystal Sugar - Moorhead, Moorhead
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $48,572.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427440 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
American Crystal Sugar - Moorhead, Moorhead
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $48,572.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427440 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Gavilon Fertilizer Llc, Moorhead
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Zinc compounds. 8,349 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5656WGVLNF21228 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
American Crystal Sugar Moorhead, Moorhead
Coal power plant.
Record ID 54211 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6
Forterra Concrete Products - Hawley, Hawley
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 5654WFRTRR41MIC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Busch Agricultural Resources, Llc, Moorhead
Major air pollution source. Penalties $323,850.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003781578 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Centennial Generating Station, Moorhead
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 57910 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Forterra Concrete Products - Hawley, Hawley
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069313264 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Barnesville Wwtp, Barnesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008801877 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Georgetown Wwtp, Georgetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008796990 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Clay County Sanitary Landfill, Hawley
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017390740 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Centennial Generating Station, Moorhead
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042148155 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Moorhead City Of - Air Curtain Incinerator, Moorhead
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068466662 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Muscatell Dodge Jeep Eagle, Moorhead
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003757220 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Town And Country Flowers, Moorhead
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008858771 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Commonwealth Edison Acres Truck Stop, Glyndon
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015337054 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Atomic Coffee, Moorhead
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038697933 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Crown Trophy, Moorhead
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038697942 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Farmer'S Insurance, Moorhead
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038697951 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Kfc Office, Moorhead
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038697960 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
West Parking Lot, Moorhead
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038697979 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 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 Clay 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 Clay 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.

Scan an address in Clay County View on the heat map All Minnesota counties