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Mercer County, Missouri: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Mercer County is 191 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 50 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (18), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (18), Industrial wastewater discharge (7). 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: 40.418, -93.5657.

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 Mercer County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	75	51.8	1.45x	43.7 to 122.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	191	143.2	1.33x	142.2 to 254	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	448.6	453.4	0.99x	366.5 to 545.5	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 Mercer County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,538.1	9,842.6	-13%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.8	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	84.5	96.9	-13%	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.

Formaldehyde16.33 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde1.48 per million
Benzene0.65 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing18
NPDES wastewater discharge permit18
Industrial wastewater discharge7
Air permit holder (minor source)4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Gas station (mapped facility)1
Hazardous waste transporter1

Highest-severity records

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

Sunrise Meats L.L.C., Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071338739 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Princeton Pws-Princeton - Treatment Plant, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009710955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Smithfield, Somerset Farm, Mercer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $18,801.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010578598 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Mercer Wwtf, Mercer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009711099 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Twin Lakes Wwtf, Mercer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015315611 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Mercer Wwtf, Mercer
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MO0056057: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2
Premium Standard Farms-Princeton Feedmill, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007374581 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Princeton Water Treatment Plant, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011108041 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Mercer Quarry, Mercer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011111402 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Mfa Oil Bulk Plant Princeton, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030763163 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Denver Miller, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009035061 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Smithfield Hog Production, Wiles Farm, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009890216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Smithfield, Wade Webster Farm, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010324620 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Princeton Quarry, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011111411 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Smithfield, Summers Nursery, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031270942 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Princeton Water Project, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042748186 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Smithfield, Peach-Perkins Farm, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055254987 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mallinson Quarry, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071203806 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Off System Bridge Replacement, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072074794 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Private, Princeton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 605626D (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Field, Princeton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 605629Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Gate Place Road, Princeton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 605631A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private, Princeton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 605634V (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Mo D, Mill Grove
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 605636J (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private, Mill Grove
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 605638X (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 Mercer 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 Mercer 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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