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Freeborn County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Freeborn County is 144.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 342 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (146), Industrial wastewater discharge (51), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (49). 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: 43.6802, -93.3489.

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 Freeborn County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	6.7	4.6	1.46x	3.9 to 11.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.1	30.2	1.23x	29.8 to 46	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	22.2	18.7	1.19x	16.5 to 29.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.7	6.6	1.17x	4.6 to 12.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10.1	8.7	1.16x	6.1 to 15.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.3	14.5	1.06x	10.6 to 21.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.7	13	1.05x	8.3 to 21.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.9	6.6	1.05x	4 to 11.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	144.9	143.2	1.01x	129.9 to 161.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	50.8	51.8	0.98x	42.2 to 61	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	437.2	453.4	0.96x	408.9 to 467.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.3	17.9	0.85x	10.4 to 22.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.6	18.5	0.84x	10.7 to 22.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.2	13.9	0.81x	7.4 to 16.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.9	23.8	0.79x	13 to 26.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	8.2	11.3	0.73x	5.2 to 12.8	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 Freeborn County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,898.8	9,842.6	-20%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.1	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	68.6	59.8	+15%	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	93.7	96.9	-3%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	20.7	28.6	-28%	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.

Formaldehyde13.81 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde1.15 per million
Benzene0.98 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing146
Industrial wastewater discharge51
NPDES wastewater discharge permit49
Gas station (mapped facility)28
Air permit holder (minor source)25
Small hazardous waste generator6
TRI reporting facility6
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Brownfield property3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Solar power plant3
Wind power plant3
Large hazardous waste generator2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
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.

Poet Biorefining Glenville Llc, Albert Lea
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $66,059.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032967957 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.7
Agra Resources Llc (Dba Poet Glenville), Albert Lea
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, Methanol, Acrolein, n-Hexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 68,890 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56007GRRSR1MILE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Reg Albert Lea Llc, Albert Lea
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 51,337 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56007SYMRX15278 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Lou-Rich Inc, Albert Lea
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Manganese, Nickel, Copper and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 492 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56007SCTSM505FR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Pro Manufacturing Inc, Albert Lea
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium. 23,554 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5600WPRMNF77917 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Lou-Rich, Inc., Albert Lea
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002123648 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Reg - Albert Lea, Albert Lea
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024870380 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Pro Manufacturing Inc, Albert Lea
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068493339 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Hartland Wastewater Treatment Plant, Hartland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,061.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008814532 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Poet Biorefining Glenville Llc, Albert Lea
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $66,059.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032967957 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Albert Lea Electroplating, Albert Lea
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110050463936 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.6
Albert Lea Electroplating, Albert Lea
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. 82 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56007LBRTL80812 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Lou-Rich Assembly Plant, Albert Lea
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031432091 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Glenville Wwtp, Glenville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008814658 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Poet Biorefining Glenville Llc, Albert Lea
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $66,059.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032967957 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Hollandale Wwtp, Hollandale
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,108.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068785942 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Poet Biorefining Glenville Llc, Albert Lea
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $66,059.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032967957 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Albert Lea Wastewater Treatment Facility, Albert Lea
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062620506 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Lou-Rich Assembly Plant, Albert Lea
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium. 7 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5600WLRCHS2611Y (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.7
Hayward Wwtp, Hayward
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008814649 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Alliance Pipeline - Albert Le, Albert Lea
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021152090 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Blazing Star, Albert Lea
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972456 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Merrick'S Facility, Albert Lea
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972457 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Merrick Main St, Albert Lea
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972459 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Albert Lea Electroplating, Albert Lea
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110050463936 (U.S. EPA ECHO) 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 Freeborn 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 Freeborn 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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