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Wadena County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Wadena County is 213.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 62 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (15), Industrial wastewater discharge (11), Gas station (mapped facility) (10). 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: 46.594, -94.9677.

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 Wadena County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	36.4	18.7	1.95xSignificant	25.4 to 50.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	34.6	18.5	1.87xSignificant	23.7 to 49.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	54.3	30.2	1.8xSignificant	41.1 to 70.9	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	39.8	23.8	1.67xSignificant	27.5 to 56	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	80.4	51.8	1.55xSignificant	64.3 to 99.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	213.3	143.2	1.49xSignificant	186 to 244	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	15.3	11.3	1.35x	9 to 25.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	19.4	14.5	1.34x	11.9 to 30.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.3	17.9	1.3x	14.9 to 35.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	569	453.4	1.25xSignificant	522.1 to 619.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.9	13.9	1.14x	9.4 to 26.2	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 Wadena County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,253.6	9,842.6	-36%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.1	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	63.3	59.8	+6%	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	86	96.9	-11%	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.

Formaldehyde11.51 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Benzene1.03 per million
Acetaldehyde1.02 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing15
Industrial wastewater discharge11
Gas station (mapped facility)10
NPDES wastewater discharge permit6
Air permit holder (minor source)5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Hazardous waste transporter2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Superfund (NPL) site1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Ritari Post & Pole, Sebeka
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 29.8. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MND980904064 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Salo Manufacturing Inc, Menahga
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate. Reports carcinogens. 249,473 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56464SLMNF2612S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Homecrest Outdoor Living - Wadena, Wadena
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 16,232 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5648WHMCRS125HM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Praxis Holdings Llc, Menahga
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001448050 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Praxis Holdings Llc, Menahga
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001448050 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
The Old Grocery Store, Sebeka
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072135781 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Wadena Wwtp, Wadena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008803054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Staples Muni, Staples
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID SAZ (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Sebeka Sewagewater Treatment Plant, Sebeka
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1250465363 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
City of Menahga
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1470084194 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Menahga Concrete Products Inc - Nonmetallic, Menahga
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008796115 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Menahga Wwtp, Menahga
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008799103 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sebeka Wwtp, Sebeka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008802518 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wadena Asphalt Inc, Wadena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009899431 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sp 8001-44 Th 10 Construction Dewatering, Wadena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071963331 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Todd Line Rd, Aldrich
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 062749L (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
2nd St, Aldrich
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 062751M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
185th Ave, Verndale
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 062754H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Farwell St, Verndale
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 062758K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Brown St, Verndale
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 062760L (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private, Verndale
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 062765V (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
151st Ave, Verndale
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 062766C (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
141st Avenue, Wadena
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 062768R (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Oink Joint Rd, Wadena
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 062769X (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private, Wadena
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 062770S (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 Wadena 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 Wadena 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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