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Meeker County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Meeker County is 136.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 147 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (43), Air permit holder (minor source) (20), Industrial wastewater discharge (20). 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: 45.1026, -94.5065.

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 Meeker County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	29.4	18.7	1.57xSignificant	22.1 to 38.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	69	51.8	1.33xSignificant	57.3 to 82.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	34.1	30.2	1.13x	26 to 44.3	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	26.7	23.8	1.12x	19 to 36.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	492.3	453.4	1.09xSignificant	457.7 to 529	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20	18.5	1.08x	13.1 to 29.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.3	14.5	1.06x	10 to 22.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.6	11.3	1.03x	7.2 to 18.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.9	17.9	1x	11.9 to 26.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.5	13.9	0.97x	8.5 to 20.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	136.7	143.2	0.95x	120.1 to 155.4	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 Meeker County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,812.3	9,842.6	-41%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.8	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	66.9	96.9	-31%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde13.01 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.1 per million
Benzene1.01 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing43
Air permit holder (minor source)20
Industrial wastewater discharge20
NPDES wastewater discharge permit18
Small hazardous waste generator10
Gas station (mapped facility)6
TRI reporting facility6
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)6
Public airport3
Large hazardous waste generator3
Solar power plant3
Major air pollution source2
Wind power plant2
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Hazardous waste transporter1
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.

Precision Fiberglass Products Ltd., Grove City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 211,491 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56243PRCSNHWY12 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Bobcat, Litchfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 145 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5535WBBCTX52PLY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Precision Fiberglass Products Ltd, Grove City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000594786 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Litchfield Wwtp, Litchfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $13,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008808825 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Bobcat, Litchfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068366280 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Spectralytics, Dassel
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $2,700.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046100269 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Rare Earth Coatings, Inc., Litchfield
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008769252 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Anderson Chemical Company, Litchfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000425095 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Louisiana Pacific, Watkins
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070246139 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.1
Anderson Chemical Co, Litchfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Nonylphenol Ethoxylates. 22 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 55355NDRSN405SO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4
Litchfield, Litchfield
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1989 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Rie Coatings Llc, Eden Valley
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003719496 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tech-Etch, Inc, Litchfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031294882 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Louisiana Pacific, Watkins
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds. 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5538WLSNPC514TH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.6
Precision Fiberglass Products Ltd, Grove City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000594786 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Litchfield City Of, Litchfield
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008808843 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Meeker Memorial Hospital, Litchfield
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003774906 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Tech-Etch, Inc, Litchfield
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031294882 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Rie Coatings Llc, Eden Valley
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese.
TRI facility ID 5532WRCTNG221LG (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Tech-Etch Inc, Litchfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chlorine.
TRI facility ID 5535WTCHTC1PREC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Cosmos Wwtp, Cosmos Township
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069042887 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Cosmos Wwtp, Cosmos
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG585056: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Darwin Wwtp, Darwin
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG585150: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
Cedar Mills Wwtp, Cedar Mills
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MN0066605: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Litchfield Muni, Litchfield
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID LJF (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2

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 Meeker 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 Meeker 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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