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Douglas County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Douglas County is 130.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 218 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (56), Gas station (mapped facility) (32), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (30). 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: 45.9332, -95.4525.

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 Douglas 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	38.2	23.8	1.61xSignificant	30.9 to 46.8	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	9	6.2	1.45x	5.4 to 14.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	18.8	14.5	1.3x	13.8 to 25.3	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.5	4.6	1.2x	3.1 to 9.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.1	11.3	1.16x	9.3 to 18.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.6	18.5	1.11x	15.5 to 27.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	485.9	453.4	1.07xSignificant	459.7 to 513.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.8	18.7	1.06x	15.1 to 25.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.5	13.9	1.04x	10.3 to 20.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.5	4.8	0.94x	2.6 to 7.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	47.7	51.8	0.92x	40.4 to 56.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	130.9	143.2	0.91x	118.7 to 144.2	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	11.6	13	0.89x	7.3 to 17.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	26.4	30.2	0.87x	21.3 to 32.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	4.8	5.7	0.84x	2.8 to 8.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14.1	17.9	0.79x	10 to 19.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	4.6	8.7	0.53x	2.7 to 7.9	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 Douglas County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,113.2	9,842.6	-38%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.4	75.3	+5%	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	78.6	96.9	-19%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	15.4	28.6	-46%	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.

Formaldehyde12.48 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Benzene1.3 per million
Acetaldehyde1.03 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing56
Gas station (mapped facility)32
NPDES wastewater discharge permit30
Industrial wastewater discharge27
Air permit holder (minor source)23
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)15
Small hazardous waste generator8
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)6
Large hazardous waste generator5
TRI reporting facility5
Solar power plant4
Major air pollution source2
Public airport2
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
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.

3m Co-Alexandria, Alexandria
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Phenol, Formaldehyde, Mercury. Reports carcinogens. 353,248 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56308MCMPN2115S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Douglas Finishing, Alexandria
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Lead, Zinc compounds. Reports carcinogens. 777 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56308DGLSM16023 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
3m - Alexandria, Alexandria
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427244 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Central Specialties Inc-Portable Asphalt Plants, Alexandria
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070053698 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Alexandria Extrusion Co, Alexandria
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium. 30 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56308LXNDR401CO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.1
Alexandria, Alexandria
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1958 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Hubbard Milling Co, Alexandria
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427235 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Sunopta Grains And Foods Inc, Alexandria
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001849607 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Standard Iron & Wire Works Inc - Alex, Alexandria
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002123871 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Douglas Machine Inc, Alexandria
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021141959 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
3m - Alexandria, Alexandria
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427244 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Pope/Douglas Solid Waste Management, Alexandria
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009409041 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
3m - Alexandria, Alexandria
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427244 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Park 3rd & Loft Apartments, Alexandria
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003870856 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Alexandria Extrusion Co, Alexandria
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008802527 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Alexandria Lake Area Sanitary District, Alexandria
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009895747 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Douglas Machine Inc, Alexandria
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021141959 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Pope/Douglas Solid Waste Management, Alexandria
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072018111 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Osakis Wwtp, Osakis
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MN0020028: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Hubbard Feeds Inc., Alexandria
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 56308HBBRD805NO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Sunopta Grains & Foods, Alexandria
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution).
TRI facility ID 56308NRTHR601TH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Standard Iron & Wire Works Inc., Alexandria
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium.
TRI facility ID 56308STNDR14013 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Central Specialties Inc-Temporary Gravel Locations Statewide, Alexandria
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070050914 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Carlos Wwtp, Carlos
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MN0023019: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
Miltona Wwtp, Miltona
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008802037 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5

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 Douglas 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 Douglas 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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