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Burke County, North Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Burke County is 216.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 156 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (121), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (14), Air permit holder (minor source) (12). 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: 48.7644, -102.546.

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 Burke County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	216.5	143.2	1.51x	142.2 to 317.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	405.4	453.4	0.89x	302.4 to 534.4	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 Burke County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,188.8	9,842.6	-47%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	81.4	75.3	+8%	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	n/a	96.9	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde12.82 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Benzene1.05 per million
Acetaldehyde0.77 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 278 good, 13 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 38, peak 285.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing121
NPDES wastewater discharge permit14
Air permit holder (minor source)12
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Public airport2
Major air pollution source1
EPA air quality monitor1
Gas station (mapped facility)1
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.

LOSTWOOD NWR
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 380130004 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5.9
Lignite Gas Plant, Lignite
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000540255 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Sandberg Redi Mix-Lignite, Lignite
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056171002 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Columbus City Of, Columbus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011043762 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Flaxton City Of, Flaxton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011043931 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Bowbells City Of, Bowbells
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039021983 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Bowbells Muni, Bowbells
Public airport. O.
Record ID 5B4 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Columbus Muni, Columbus
Public airport. O.
Record ID D49 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Portal City Of, Portal
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063032427 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Lignite City Of, Lignite
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011043806 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Powers Lake City Of, Powers Lake
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011045001 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Savage Services Corp-Bowbells Facility, Bowbells
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056171020 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Powers Lake, Unknown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070213413 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Petro Harvester Operating Co. Llc, Unknown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070387625 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Canadian Pacific - Portal Yard, Portal
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071222106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
North Dakota Game And Fish - Smishek Lake, (Unknown City)
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072082286 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bowbells Nddot, Bowbells
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072164008 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Formentera Well Connect, Unknown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072254750 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nd 89, Lignite
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 071775A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
86th Ave Nw, Lignite
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 071776G (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
92nd Ave Nw, Larson
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 071783S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Stampede Yard, Larson
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 071785F (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Burke Cr 7, Larson
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 071786M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Stampede Switch To Track S-2, Lignite
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 690971P (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Stampede Switch To Track S-2, Lignite
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 690972W (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 Burke 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 Burke 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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