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Waseca County, Minnesota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Waseca County is 163.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 180 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (52), Rail grade crossing (48), Industrial wastewater discharge (25). 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: 44.0348, -93.5873.

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 Waseca County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	New cases	20.4	14.5	1.41x	13.3 to 30.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	23.8	18.5	1.29x	15.7 to 35	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	16.3	13.9	1.17x	9.8 to 25.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	163.7	143.2	1.14x	142.1 to 188	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	498.5	453.4	1.1xSignificant	458.9 to 540.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25	23.8	1.05x	16.5 to 36.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.3	18.7	1.03x	12.3 to 29.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.9	17.9	1x	11 to 27.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.8	30.2	0.99x	21 to 41.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	50	51.8	0.97x	38.4 to 64.4	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 Waseca County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,508.1	9,842.6	-44%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.3	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	66.1	96.9	-32%	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.

Formaldehyde13.65 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.18 per million
Benzene1.05 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit52
Rail grade crossing48
Industrial wastewater discharge25
Solar power plant14
Air permit holder (minor source)9
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
TRI reporting facility5
Major air pollution source2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
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.

Guardian Energy Llc, Janesville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, n-Hexane, Acetaldehyde, Methanol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 121,802 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5604WGRDNN47453 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Conagra Foods Packaged Foods Llc, Waseca
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Nitric acid, Peracetic acid. 22,183 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5609WCNGRF2351B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Conagra Foods Packaged Foods Llc, Waseca
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Peracetic acid. 14,856 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 56093GNLNK4004T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Guardian Energy Llc, Janesville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037061988 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Conagra Foods Packaged Foods Llc, Waseca
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071434073 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Itron. Inc., Waseca
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 56093TRNNC241NS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Itron Inc, Waseca
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003736146 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Cargill Animal Nutrition, New Richland Township
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064167501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Janesville, Janesville
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1982 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Cinch Connectivity Solutions, Waseca
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426986 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Waseca Wwtp, Waseca
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008815354 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Brown Printing Company, Waseca
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426977 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Guardian Energy Llc, Janesville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037061988 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Waldorf Wwtp, Waldorf
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008813631 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Cinch Connectivity Solutions, Waseca
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000426986 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cargill Feed & Nutrition New Richland, New Richland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 56072CRGLL21295 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Cinch Connectivity Solutions, Waseca
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper.
TRI facility ID 56093FJHNS299JO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Conagra Foods Packaged Foods Llc, Waseca
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,257,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008846188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Guardian Energy Llc, Janesville
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037061988 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Fox Farms, Freedom Township
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067722192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
New Richland Wwtp, New Richland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008813775 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Conagra Foods Packaged Foods Llc, Waseca
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $1,257,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008846188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Waseca Muni/Maynard Richard Stensrud Fld, Waseca
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ACQ (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Cargill Animal Nutrition, New Richland Township
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064167501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Waseca Sand And Gravel, Waseca
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071402735 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

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 Waseca 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 Waseca 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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