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Swift County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Swift County is 99.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 166 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (94), Air permit holder (minor source) (19), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (19). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 45.2963, -95.6865.

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 Swift County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	New cases	22.7	14.5	1.57x	12.8 to 38.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.6	17.9	1.32x	12.8 to 40.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28	23.8	1.18x	16.7 to 44.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	57.6	51.8	1.11x	41.6 to 78.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	448.9	453.4	0.99x	399.8 to 503	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.3	30.2	0.97x	18.7 to 45	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	99.9	143.2	0.7x	79.1 to 125.4	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 Swift County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,978.4	9,842.6	-19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79	75.3	+5%	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	82.5	96.9	-15%	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.

Formaldehyde12.3 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.06 per million
Benzene0.8 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing94
Air permit holder (minor source)19
NPDES wastewater discharge permit19
Industrial wastewater discharge14
Small hazardous waste generator3
Major air pollution source2
Public airport2
Commercial airport2
Heliport2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Gas station (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Large hazardous waste generator1
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.

Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co, Benson
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, Ammonia, n-Hexane, Methanol and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 77,925 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56215CHPPW27020 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Cnh Industrial America Llc, Benson
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Lead and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,396 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56215TYLRLEASTH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co, Benson
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427075 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Cnh Industrial America Llc, Benson
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008804516 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Benson Municipal Utilities, Benson
Major air pollution source. Penalties $14,002.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008804482 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Benson City Of, Benson
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1964 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Murdock Wwtp, Murdock
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068431904 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co, Benson
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427075 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kerkhoven Wwtp, Kerkhoven
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008804598 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Danvers Wwtp, Danvers
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068126110 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co, Benson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427075 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Swift County Benson Hospital, Benson
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003780221 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Degraff Wwtp, De Graff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110068922492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co, Benson
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000427075 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Clontarf Wwtp, Clontarf Township
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067962299 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Appleton Wwtp, Appleton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039734295 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
West-Con Cooperative - Holloway Liquid Plant, Holloway
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045954829 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Appleton Muni, Appleton
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID AQP (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Benson Muni, Benson
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID BBB (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Swift County Monitor News, Benson
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003820330 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
David Gades Farm, Holloway
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043487571 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Johnson Dairy Inc, Kerkhoven
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043731156 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
East Dublin Dairy Llp, Murdock
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046032048 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Benson Wastewater Treatment Facility, Benson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061892590 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
The Pit Stop, Appleton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067720112 (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.

Prairie Correctional Facility, Appleton
EPA FRS registry ID
110008742076
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Swift 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 Swift 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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