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Polk County, Missouri: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Polk County is 158.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 136 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (81), Air permit holder (minor source) (20), Gas station (mapped facility) (11). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 30 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: 37.6204, -93.3955.

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 Polk County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	18.5	13	1.42x	12.1 to 26.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.6	17.9	1.37xSignificant	18 to 33	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	70.7	51.8	1.36xSignificant	59.7 to 83.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	36.7	30.2	1.22x	29.2 to 45.7	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	22.2	18.7	1.19x	16.4 to 29.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.4	13.9	1.11x	10.6 to 21.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	158.3	143.2	1.11x	141.6 to 176.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.2	11.3	1.08x	8 to 18.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	489	453.4	1.08xSignificant	458 to 521.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.9	23.8	1x	16.9 to 32.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.3	18.5	0.88x	11.2 to 23.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.1	14.5	0.83x	7.7 to 18.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.1	8.7	0.82x	4 to 12	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 Polk County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,394.7	9,842.6	+6%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.6	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	49.6	59.8	-17%	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	91	96.9	-6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	15.4	28.6	-46%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 30 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde19.54 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde1.93 per million
Benzene0.91 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit81
Air permit holder (minor source)20
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Small hazardous waste generator6
Industrial wastewater discharge5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Public airport2
Brownfield property2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Heliport1
Rail grade crossing1
TRI reporting facility1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)1

Highest-severity records

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

Bolivar Pws, Bolivar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000733653 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Missouri Prime Beef Packers, Pleasant Hope
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006726926 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fair Play Wwtf, Fair Play
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011076511 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Tracker Marine Bolivar, Bolivar
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000444635 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tracker Marine, Bolivar
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese. 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 65613JLMMR1402S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.6
Humansville, Humansville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006665340 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Bolivar Southtown Utilities Company Inc-Well #1 Treatment, Bolivar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038333345 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Daniel Beachy, Dunnegan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070947270 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Tracker Marine Bolivar Plant 2, Bolivar
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese. 3 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 6561WTRCKR483S1 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.5
Morrisville Wwtp, Morrisville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013809708 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Humansville Community Building, Humansville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043242648 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bolivar Recreation Area, Bolivar
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072080317 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sunshine Estates Subdivision Hoa Wwtf, Pleasant Hope
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038110166 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Quail Creek Mhp, Bolivar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009869776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Lake Meadows Mhp-Well # 2 Treatment, Bolivar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014391942 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Silo Ridge Golf And Country Club Wwtf, Bolivar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070824675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Flemington Wwtf, Flemington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011097552 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Cane Creek Quarry Llc Bolivar Quarry, Half Way
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020840054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Pleasant Hope Wwtf, Pleasant Hope
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009712338 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Karlin Place Subdivision Wwtp, Bolivar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110023142730 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Village Of Halfway Wwtp, Bolivar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024404660 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Bolivar Muni, Bolivar
Public airport. O.
Record ID M17 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1359419441 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Citizens Memorial Hospital, Bolivar
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056661731 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Ats Farms Llc, Bolivar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072158355 (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 Polk 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 Polk 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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