ND / county FIPS 38035 / county research

Grand Forks County, North Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Grand Forks County is 133.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 462 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (193), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (169), Gas station (mapped facility) (35). 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: 47.9349, -97.4593.

How this county ranks in North Dakota

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Grand Forks County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	6.3	4.4	1.43x	3.9 to 9.7	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.4	6.2	1.35x	5.6 to 12.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.4	14.5	1.2x	13.3 to 22.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.2	23.8	1.18x	22.8 to 34.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.6	5.7	1.16x	4.3 to 9.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	59.1	51.8	1.14x	51.6 to 67.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	14.7	13	1.13x	10.8 to 19.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20	18.7	1.07x	15.6 to 25.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.8	17.9	1.05x	14.4 to 24.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	31.7	30.2	1.05x	26.2 to 38	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.8	4.6	1.04x	2.8 to 7.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5	4.8	1.04x	3 to 7.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	460	453.4	1.01x	437.8 to 483.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.8	18.5	0.96x	13.8 to 22.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.2	6.6	0.94x	3.9 to 9.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	133.4	143.2	0.93x	121.9 to 145.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.6	8.7	0.76x	4.3 to 9.8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	4.8	6.6	0.73x	2.7 to 7.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	9.2	13.9	0.66x	6.3 to 12.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	6.2	11.3	0.55x	4 to 9.3	2020-2024

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 Grand Forks County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,700.6	9,842.6	-32%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.6	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	48.5	59.8	-19%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.5	6.2	-28%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	68.2	96.9	-30%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	14.4	28.6	-49%	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.

Formaldehyde11.97 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3.01 per million
Acetaldehyde1.01 per million
Benzene0.93 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing193
NPDES wastewater discharge permit169
Gas station (mapped facility)35
Air permit holder (minor source)15
Small hazardous waste generator11
Public airport9
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Major air pollution source4
Scrapyard (mapped facility)4
TRI reporting facility4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Commercial airport2
Brownfield property2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Landfill (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.

Lm Wind Power Blades Inc, Grand Forks
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate, Cumene hydroperoxide, Dimethyl phthalate. Reports carcinogens. 994,052 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 58206LMGLS1580S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Lm Wind Power Blades - Grand Forks Facility, Grand Forks
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002124353 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
North Dakota Mill, Grand Forks
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuryl fluoride. 152,140 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 58206NRTHD1823M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
J. R. Simplot Co, Grand Forks
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Hydrogen sulfide, Nitric acid, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 81,558 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 58201JRSMP3630G (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Philadelphia Macaroni Co, Grand Forks
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuryl fluoride. 72,375 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5820WPHLDL181NR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
North Dakota Mill, Grand Forks
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428305 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
J R Simplot Co, Grand Forks
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428270 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Philadelphia Macaroni Company, Grand Forks
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070306900 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Grand Forks Intl, Grand Forks
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID GFK (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Lm Wind Power Blades - Grand Forks Facility, Grand Forks
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002124353 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Weekley'S Auto, Grand Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014333836 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Northwood City Of, Northwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011045519 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Lm Wind Power Blades - Grand Forks Facility, Grand Forks
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002124353 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Lm Wind Power Blades - Grand Forks Facility, Grand Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002124353 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Grand Forks City Of, Grand Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040042496 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Altru Health System - Stormwater Construction, Grand Forks
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070200808 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
J R Simplot Co, Grand Forks
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428270 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Grand Forks Municipal Solid Waste Landfill, Grand Forks
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040475269 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
University Of North Dakota (Und) - Heating Plant - Aq, Grand Forks
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043969364 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Grand Forks International Airport, Grand Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070002986 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Us Air Force Grand Forks Air Force Base Nd, Grand Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028223517 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
J&G Landscaping Inc, (Unknown City)
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070099646 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
M & M Enterprises, Thompson
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038755200 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
English Memorial Hall, Niagara
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039688996 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
J R Simplot Co, Grand Forks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428270 (U.S. EPA ECHO) 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 Grand Forks 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 Grand Forks 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.

Scan an address in Grand Forks County View on the heat map All North Dakota counties