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Benson County, North Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Benson County is 201.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 181 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Brownfield property (79), Rail grade crossing (70), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (25). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 10 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: 48.1099, -99.481.

How this county ranks in North Dakota

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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 Benson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	50.9	30.2	1.69x	29.8 to 82.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	85.9	51.8	1.66xSignificant	57.8 to 123.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	201.6	143.2	1.41xSignificant	153.9 to 259.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	502	453.4	1.11x	424.9 to 589.3	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 Benson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	35,011.3	9,842.6	+256%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	60.1	75.3	-20%	years
Child mortality	156.7	59.8	+162%	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	205.4	96.9	+112%	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: 10 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde10.25 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde0.77 per million
Benzene0.6 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Brownfield property79
Rail grade crossing70
NPDES wastewater discharge permit25
Public airport4
Major air pollution source1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Scrapyard (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.

Tate Topa Tribal Grant School (Four Winds), Fort Totten
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020661951 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Tokio Wastewater Treatment Lagoons, Fort Totten
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022269668 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Spirit Lake Casino Wwtf, Saint Michael
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070249626 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Smc- Kevlar Coating Facility, Fort Totten
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000825867 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Nd Dot - Bridge Hydro-Demolition In Nelson Co., Unknown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064777665 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Saint Michael'S Indian Mission School, St. Michael
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038736375 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Fort Totten Community Youth Center, Fort Totten
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038736428 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Historic Fort Totten Calvary Square, Fort Totten
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038736455 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ross Acres Relocatable Homes, Tokio
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038762648 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Rolling Hills Relocatable Homes, Sheyenne
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038763264 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tokio Recreation Center/Post Office, Tokio
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039538881 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tokio Daycare, Tokio
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039538890 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ft. Totten Bldg. 75, Fort Totten
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039541671 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Hospital, Fort Totten
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039541699 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
St. Michael'S/Ft. Totten Landfill, Saint Michael
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039541724 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Fort Totten State Historic Property, Fort Totten
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042231260 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Historic Crow Hill Church, Fort Totten
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043085167 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Dti Property Dakota Tribal Industries, Fort Totten
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043085176 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Youth Center, Fort Totten
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060520538 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Mental Health/ Headstart Building, St. Michael
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071963909 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tokio Food Pantry, Tokio
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071963910 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Dakota Baptist Church, St Michael
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965476 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Ft. Totten Landfill, Ft. Totten
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967135 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Coal Burning Facility, Wood Lake
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967136 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Pow Wow Grounds, Wood Lake
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967137 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 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 Benson County

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