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Knox County, Missouri: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Knox County is 189.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 56 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (19), Industrial wastewater discharge (14), Air permit holder (minor source) (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: 40.132, -92.1478.

How this county ranks in Missouri

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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 Knox County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	61.1	30.2	2.02xSignificant	37.2 to 98.5	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	189.7	143.2	1.32x	141.9 to 250.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	67.4	51.8	1.3x	42.1 to 106.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	493.6	453.4	1.09x	406.2 to 595.5	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 Knox County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,172.7	9,842.6	+3%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.7	75.3	+1%	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	97.8	96.9	+1%	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.

Formaldehyde17.07 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.59 per million
Benzene0.66 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit19
Industrial wastewater discharge14
Air permit holder (minor source)11
Rail grade crossing7
Public airport3
Gas station (mapped facility)2

Highest-severity records

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

Hurdland Wwtf, Hurdland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009869892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Baring Area Wwtf, Baring
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009876526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Dutchmaids Bakery, Rutledge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067593483 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Edina Wwtf, Edina
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MO0099171: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Knox City Wwtf, Knox City
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MO0095745: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Baring Area Wwtf, Baring
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MO0045811: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.1
Heartland Community Wwtf, Newark
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009696034 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Novelty Wwtf, Novelty
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009873315 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Midwest Poultry Processing, Llc, Rutledge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071357563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Edina Wwtf, Edina
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006667017 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Newark Wwtf, Newark
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022843217 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Mfa Oil Bulk Plant Novelty, Novelty
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030763181 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Novelty Wwtf, Novelty
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MO0102032: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.5
Skyline Materials Ltd, Newark
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007099683 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Knox City Wwtf, Knox City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009874412 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Central Stone Company Edina Quarry Kc01, Edina
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018003453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nemo Hardwoods Llc, Edina
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044905127 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cardwell Lumber, Inc., Novelty
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059802584 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Weiler Dairy, Rutledge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064433741 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
W. L. Miller - Cmi Drum Plant, Edina
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070837822 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Meadowlark Creamery, Baring
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071507792 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nemo Substation And Interconnect, Hurdland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071671703 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dutch Garden Nursery, Edina
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072228238 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cr 42, Baring
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 005052J (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Main St, Baring
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 005057T (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 Knox County

Missouri 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 Knox County, and their findings.
Missouri vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Missouri health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Missouri 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.
Missouri 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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