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Lake County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lake County is 154.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 136 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (51), Industrial wastewater discharge (32), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (14). 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: 47.5553, -91.4065.

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 Lake County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	28	18.5	1.51x	17.3 to 44	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	20.2	13.9	1.45x	11.3 to 34.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.7	17.9	1.21x	12.2 to 36.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	57.5	51.8	1.11x	44 to 75.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	154.4	143.2	1.08x	129.9 to 183.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	465.7	453.4	1.03x	419.1 to 517	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.6	23.8	0.91x	13 to 35.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	26.4	30.2	0.87x	17.3 to 40.3	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 Lake County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	4,749.6	9,842.6	-52%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.6	75.3	+6%	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	83.5	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.

Formaldehyde9.05 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3 per million
Acetaldehyde0.78 per million
Benzene0.74 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 361 days: 310 good, 15 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 31, peak 191.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing51
Industrial wastewater discharge32
NPDES wastewater discharge permit14
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Air permit holder (minor source)5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Brownfield property3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Major air pollution source2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Coal power plant1
Hydroelectric plant1
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.

Louisiana-Pacific Two Harbors Siding, Two Harbors
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Methanol, Acetaldehyde, Zinc compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 138,362 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 55616LSNPCINDUS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Northshore Mining Company, Silver Bay
Major air pollution source. Penalties $17,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000910453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Northshore Mining Company, Silver Bay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $17,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000910453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Northshore Mining Company, Silver Bay
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $17,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000910453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Silver Bay Power, Silver Bay
Coal power plant.
Record ID 10849 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6.1
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, Two Harbors
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008799906 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Northshore Mining Company, Silver Bay
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $17,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000910453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Silver Bay Wwtp, Silver Bay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,495.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008800146 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Boundary Waters
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 270750005 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.5
Labounty, Two Harbors
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Manganese. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 55616STNLY1538S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Stanley Labounty, Two Harbors
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426236 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Two Harbors Wwtp, Two Harbors
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,375.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007601666 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, Two Harbors
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008799906 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Beaver Bay Wwtp, Silver Bay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008800100 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Two Harbors Dump, Two Harbors
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038743410 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former John A. Johnson School, Two Harbors
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972645 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
J&J Castings, Two Harbors
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072154706 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Winton Wwtp, Winton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068956160 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Wisconsin Central Ltd - Two Harbors Transshipment, Two Harbors
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008834725 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Richard B Helgeson, Two Harbors
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID TWM (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Beaver Bay Water Treatment Facility
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1098368847 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Lake County Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1382374152 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Linden Gravel Sand & Rock, Two Harbors
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070216846 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Lake County Gravel Pits, Two Harbors
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008695206 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Two Harbors Machine Shop Inc, Two Harbors
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008799755 (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 Lake 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 Lake 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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