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Nelson County, North Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Nelson County is 119 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 119 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (95), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (16), Public airport (3). 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: 47.936, -98.2038.

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 Nelson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	494.4	453.4	1.09x	403.5 to 602.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	119	143.2	0.83x	81.7 to 173.2	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 Nelson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,162.6	9,842.6	-37%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.4	75.3	+4%	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.

Formaldehyde10.63 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde0.82 per million
Benzene0.61 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing95
NPDES wastewater discharge permit16
Public airport3
Brownfield property2
Gas station (mapped facility)2
Auto repair or body shop (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.

Tolna City Of, Tolna
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056178167 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Former Hodney Hotel, Lakota
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071966353 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Michigan School- Fargo Assembly Building, Michigan
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977098 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lakota Stp, Lakota
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022364396 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Michigan City Of, Michigan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011044155 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Lakota Muni, Lakota
Public airport. O.
Record ID 5L0 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Mc Ville Muni, Mc Ville
Public airport. O.
Record ID 8M6 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Pekin City Of, Pekin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011043316 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Aneta City Of, Aneta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011044315 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Petersburg City Of, Petersburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011044477 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Mcville City Of, Mcville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011044468 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nelson County Shop, Mcville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070530026 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lakota Airport Authority, Lakota
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072075226 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nelson Co. Bridge, Tolna
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072147073 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nelson Co. Bridge, Mcville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072151032 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nelson County - Job 23717, Brj-0032(018) - Structure Replacement, Mcville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072184993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nelson County - Job 23717, Brj-0032(018) - Structure Removal, Tolna
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072191907 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nddot - Ss-3-999(051) (Pcn-23420), Pekin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072255322 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Greater Ramsey Water District, Devils Lake
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID x40e012b81ec5b452188f0a7b8fb1d1e2 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
0033-47.17 And 0033-46.96 Culvert Replacements, Petersburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID x4d3cb433099af6bc33727bf41a9877b0 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pvt Xing, Niagara
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 086590M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
124th Ave Ne, Niagara
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 086591U (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
122nd Ave Ne, Petersburg
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 086596D (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Pvt Xing, Petersburg
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 086597K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
121st Ave Ne, Petersburg
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 086599Y (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 Nelson 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 Nelson 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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