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Pennington County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Pennington County is 169.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 100 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (43), Gas station (mapped facility) (12), Industrial wastewater discharge (11). 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: 48.0716, -96.0469.

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 Pennington County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	33.9	18.7	1.81xSignificant	23.1 to 48.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	40.4	23.8	1.7xSignificant	27.4 to 57.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	23.9	18.5	1.29x	14.8 to 37	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	18.5	14.5	1.28x	10.7 to 30.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.3	17.9	1.25x	13.4 to 35.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	559.1	453.4	1.23xSignificant	510.4 to 611.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	169.3	143.2	1.18xSignificant	143.5 to 198.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	55	51.8	1.06x	41.3 to 72.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	31.2	30.2	1.03x	21.4 to 44.7	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 Pennington County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,573.8	9,842.6	-23%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.3	75.3	+4%	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	91.7	96.9	-5%	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.

Formaldehyde10.38 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.99 per million
Acetaldehyde0.9 per million
Benzene0.87 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing43
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Industrial wastewater discharge11
Air permit holder (minor source)10
NPDES wastewater discharge permit7
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Small hazardous waste generator3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Oil-fired power 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.

Arctic Cat Inc., Thief River Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Copper and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 686 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56701RCTCN600BR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Thief River Falls Rgnl, Thief River Falls
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID TVF (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Arctic Cat Inc, Thief River Falls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054843675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Thief River Falls Wwtp, Thief River Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008795615 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Thief River Falls, Thief River Falls
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 2014 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Arctic Cat Inc, Thief River Falls
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054843675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Falls Truck Repair Inc, Thief River Falls
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003815694 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Thief River Falls City Of - Power Plant, Thief River Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008795624 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Saint Hilaire Wwtp, Saint Hilaire
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070501842 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Thief River Falls Wastewater Treatment Facility
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/773655277 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
7 Clans Wastewater Treatment Facility
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/773655278 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Goodridge Wastewater Treatment Facility
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/773655279 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Saint Hilaire Wastewater Treatment Facility
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/773655280 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Goodridge Wwtp, Goodridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008795973 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Forsberg Inc, Thief River Falls
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003870749 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Westside Motors Of Trf Inc, Thief River Falls
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006045911 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mndak Concrete Inc Dba Wells Concrete, Thief River Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008696063 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Saint Hilaire, Saint Hilaire
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008796062 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Thief River Falls, Thief River Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070003873 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Chs Inc., Thief River Falls
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070245584 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
40th Ave Se, Plummer
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 695835G (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
130th St Se, St Hilaire
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 695837V (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Center St E, St Hilaire
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 695841K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
110th St Ne, St Hilaire
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 695842S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Road, Thief River Falls
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 695843Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3

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 Pennington 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 Pennington 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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