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Koochiching County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Koochiching County is 136.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Pancreas deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 118 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Gas station (mapped facility) (26), Rail grade crossing (24), Industrial wastewater discharge (20). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 10 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: 48.2609, -93.7595.

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 Koochiching County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	Deaths	19.6	11.3	1.73xSignificant	12.6 to 30.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	23.6	13.9	1.7xSignificant	15.3 to 36.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.2	14.5	1.19x	10.2 to 28.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.4	17.9	1.03x	10.3 to 31.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.7	23.8	1x	15.5 to 36.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.4	18.7	0.98x	11.2 to 30.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	438.3	453.4	0.97x	396.6 to 484.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	136.2	143.2	0.95x	115.5 to 160.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	26	30.2	0.86x	17.6 to 38.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	44.1	51.8	0.85x	32.8 to 59.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.8	18.5	0.8x	9 to 25.1	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 Koochiching County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,809.5	9,842.6	-10%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.9	75.3	+2%	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	110.7	96.9	+14%	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: 10 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde8.98 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.99 per million
Acetaldehyde0.9 per million
Benzene0.74 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Gas station (mapped facility)26
Rail grade crossing24
Industrial wastewater discharge20
NPDES wastewater discharge permit15
Air permit holder (minor source)6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Public airport4
Major air pollution source3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Small hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Biomass power plant1
Hydroelectric plant1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Boise White Paper Llc, International Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ammonia, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Hydrogen sulfide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,602,146 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56649BSCSCSECON (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Boise White Paper Llc, International Falls
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $10,230.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.8
Falls Intl/Einarson Fld, International Falls
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID INL (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Boise White Paper Llc, International Falls
Major air pollution source. Penalties $10,230.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Boise White Paper Llc, International Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,230.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Boise White Paper Llc, International Falls
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $10,230.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Nkasd Wwtp, International Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008798097 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
International Bildrite Incorporated, International Falls
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000910505 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Specialty Minerals Inc - International, International Falls
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008798140 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Isd 363 - Indus Public School, Birchdale
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037944598 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Wagner Construction Inc, Rainy Lake Unorganized
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068962929 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Littlefork Wwtp, Littlefork
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG585081: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Boise Cascade International Falls, International Falls
Biomass power plant.
Record ID 10486 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 2.5
Big Falls Wwtp, Big Falls
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG585135: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Big Falls Wwtp, Big Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008797677 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Littlefork Wwtp, Littlefork
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068210625 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Isd #363 Indus Public School, Northome
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030991149 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Littlefork Muni/Hanover, Littlefork
Public airport. O.
Record ID 13Y (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Northome Muni, Northome
Public airport. O.
Record ID 43Y (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Big Falls Muni, Big Falls
Public airport. O.
Record ID 7Y9 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/402164320 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/745150451 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Northome Wastewater Treatment Facility
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/773853917 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
International Falls Wastewater Treatment Facility
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/773853919 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Northome Wwtp, Northome
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069102385 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

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 Koochiching 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 Koochiching 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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