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Cascade County, Montana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cascade County is 143.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 576 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (199), Rail grade crossing (140), Brownfield property (90). 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: 47.2706, -111.4166.

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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 Cascade County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	25.9	18.7	1.39xSignificant	21.8 to 30.7	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.6	4.1	1.12x	3.1 to 6.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	32.1	30.2	1.06x	27.8 to 37	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6	5.7	1.05x	4.1 to 8.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.9	4.8	1.02x	3.3 to 7.1	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	143.2	143.2	1x	133.6 to 153.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.7	8.7	1x	6.4 to 11.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	433.2	453.4	0.96x	415.5 to 451.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.2	6.6	0.94x	4.4 to 8.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	12.9	13.9	0.93x	10.1 to 16.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	47.4	51.8	0.92x	42 to 53.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.1	3.4	0.91x	1.8 to 5	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4	4.4	0.91x	2.5 to 6.2	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	11.6	13	0.89x	8.4 to 15.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.3	3.7	0.89x	2 to 5.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.8	17.9	0.88x	12.3 to 19.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.5	14.5	0.86x	9.6 to 16.2	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	3.9	4.6	0.85x	2.5 to 6.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5	6.2	0.81x	3.1 to 7.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	8.8	11.3	0.78x	6.5 to 11.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.9	18.5	0.75x	10.9 to 17.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	4.7	6.6	0.71x	3.1 to 6.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	16.4	23.8	0.69x	13 to 20.4	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 Cascade County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,758.4	9,842.6	-1%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.5	75.3	+0%	years
Child mortality	61.4	59.8	+3%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.7	6.2	-8%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	105.4	96.9	+9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	15.6	28.6	-46%	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.

Formaldehyde10.8 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.71 per million
Naphthalene1.66 per million
Acetaldehyde1.42 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2024

Monitored on 87 days: 52 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 46, peak 74.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit199
Rail grade crossing140
Brownfield property90
Gas station (mapped facility)44
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)43
Small hazardous waste generator8
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Major air pollution source6
Hydroelectric plant5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Public airport4
Large greenhouse gas emitter4
Heliport4
TRI reporting facility3
Large hazardous waste generator2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Superfund (NPL) site2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Solar power plant1
Wind 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.

Great Falls Renewable Diesel Plant, Great Falls
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $409,709.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428500 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Carpenter Snow Creek Mining District, Neihart
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MT0001096353 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
ACM Smelter and Refinery, Black Eagle
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 54.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MTD093291599 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Calumet Montana Refining Llc., Great Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Propylene, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 600,922 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 59414MNTNR19001 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Big Sky Scientific L.L.C., Sun River
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 1,177,782 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5948WBGSKY13786 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Great Falls Renewable Diesel Plant, Great Falls
Major air pollution source. Penalties $409,709.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428500 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Us Dod Usaf Malmstrom Afb, Malmstrom Afb
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 8,054 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 59402SDDSR3978T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Big Sky Scientific Llc, Sun River
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070594993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Great Falls Renewable Diesel Plant, Great Falls
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $409,709.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428500 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Great Falls Renewable Diesel Plant, Great Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $409,709.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428500 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Great Falls Renewable Diesel Plant, Great Falls
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $409,709.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428500 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Mt Waste Systems - High Plains Landfill, Floweree
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011049123 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Mt Waste Systems - High Plains Landfill, Floweree
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011049123 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Mt Waste Systems - High Plains Landfill, Floweree
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011049123 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Great Falls Intl, Great Falls
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID GTF (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
General Mills Operations Inc, Great Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001473940 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Meadow Gold Dairies-Great Falls, Great Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009860588 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Perry Merkel Shop, Great Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011047651 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Great Falls Transit District, Great Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011048972 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Western Livestock Auction, Great Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012305610 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Malmstrom Air Force Base Small Ms-4, Malmstrom Afb
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032592120 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Dixon Bros Inc - Dixon Bros, Great Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043275880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Adf International, Great Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055251267 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
South Winds Wastewater Treatment Plant, Great Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069594905 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Afb Mosquito Control, Great Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070568793 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5

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 Cascade County

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