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Pine County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Pine County is 170.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Non-Hodgkin lymphoma deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 185 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (84), Industrial wastewater discharge (27), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (21). 3 correctional facilities operate in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. 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: 46.0737, -92.6757.

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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 Pine County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	8.6	4.8	1.79xSignificant	5.1 to 13.9	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	35	23.8	1.47xSignificant	26.9 to 45	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	74.5	51.8	1.44xSignificant	64.1 to 86.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	43.4	30.2	1.44xSignificant	35.6 to 52.9	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	8.1	5.7	1.42x	4.7 to 13.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.7	17.9	1.38xSignificant	18.2 to 33.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	19.1	14.5	1.32x	13.3 to 26.8	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.1	6.2	1.31x	4.5 to 13.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	170.4	143.2	1.19xSignificant	153.8 to 188.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.5	18.5	1.16x	15.3 to 29.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	506.1	453.4	1.12xSignificant	475.5 to 538.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.4	13.9	1.11x	10.8 to 21.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.1	11.3	1.07x	8.1 to 17.9	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	17.3	18.7	0.93x	12.2 to 24.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.5	13	0.88x	6.9 to 18.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.3	8.7	0.72x	3.5 to 10.8	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 Pine County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,533.8	9,842.6	-13%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.9	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	52.4	59.8	-12%	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	106.7	96.9	+10%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	31.8	28.6	+11%	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.

Formaldehyde11.98 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.98 per million
Acetaldehyde1.12 per million
Benzene1.05 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 69 days: 65 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 23, peak 61.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing84
Industrial wastewater discharge27
NPDES wastewater discharge permit21
Gas station (mapped facility)20
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Small hazardous waste generator4
Public airport3
Correctional facility (prison or jail)3
Major air pollution source2
Brownfield property2
EPA air quality monitor1
Airfield1
Heliport1
Oil-fired power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
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.

Federal Correctional Institution, Sandstone
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,910 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5507WFDRLC23CUN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Federal Correctional Institution, Sandstone
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000711285 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Rock Lake Ct, Pine City
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 6741 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Grand Casino Hinckley, Hinckley
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003888883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Hinckley Wwtp, Hinckley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008801314 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Great River Energy - Rock Lake, Pine City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064169046 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Lake Lena, Hinckley
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 271153061 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3.2
Pine City Mill, Pine City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971029 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sandstone School, Sandstone
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071992860 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Askov, Askov
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008801127 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Pine City-Treatment Plant #2, Pine City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008807540 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Hinckley Wwtp, Hinckley
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MN0023701: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Sandstone Wwtp, Sandstone
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008801207 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Hopkins Sand & Gravel Inc - N, Webster
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069106719 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Askov Wwtp, Askov
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MNG585229: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Pine City Township Gravel Pit, Pine City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015719542 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Willow River Wwtp, Willow River
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027245808 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Willow River Wwtp, Willow River
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068521095 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Field Of Dreams, Hinckley
Public airport. O.
Record ID 04W (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Finlayson Wwtp, Finlayson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008800930 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Bonk'S Custom Mix Concrete Inc, Willow River
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071377326 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Luoma Egg Ranch Inc, Finlayson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006059932 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hopkins Sand & Gravel Inc, Beroun
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009399374 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Broekema Beltway Usa Inc - Pine City, Pine City
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012209289 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sheryl'S Construction Inc - Isle, Finlayson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021033610 (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.

Federal Correctional Institution, Sandstone
EPA FRS registry ID
110000711285
Water system
MN1580012
Health-based violations
2 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
6
Contaminants cited
Combined Radium (-226 and -228), Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Mn Correctional Facility - Willow River-Well #1 Entry Point, Willow River
EPA FRS registry ID
110008841753
Water system
MN1580014
Health-based violations
0 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
2
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Federal Correctional Institut, Sandstone
EPA FRS registry ID
110045450301
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Pine 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 Pine 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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