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Walsh County, North Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Walsh County is 159.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 343 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (279), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (47), Air permit holder (minor source) (4). 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: 48.3675, -97.7238.

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 Walsh County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	28.4	17.9	1.59x	17.4 to 44.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	69.3	51.8	1.34xSignificant	51.9 to 91.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	159.4	143.2	1.11x	131.4 to 192.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	478.7	453.4	1.06x	428.2 to 534	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.6	23.8	1.03x	13.5 to 41.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	24.8	30.2	0.82x	15.2 to 39.5	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 Walsh County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,772.3	9,842.6	-31%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.6	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	49.4	96.9	-49%	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.

Formaldehyde10.95 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3.01 per million
Acetaldehyde0.92 per million
Benzene0.73 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing279
NPDES wastewater discharge permit47
Air permit holder (minor source)4
Brownfield property4
Public airport3
Gas station (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Oil-fired 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.

Grafton, Grafton
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 2811 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Walsh County Highway Department - Brj-0050(058) 23728 Site #1, Edinburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006112688 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Former Car Dealership, Grafton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038755969 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Potato Wash Plant, Park River
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038762899 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Walsh County Bank, Grafton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071966380 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Central Middle School, Grafton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983119 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Pisek City Of, Pisek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011043307 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Fordville, Fordville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011044556 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Grafton City Of, Grafton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040019351 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Mayo Construction Company, Inc - Hylden Pit, Fordville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071655902 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Mayo Construction Company, Inc - Johanssen Pit, Edinburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071660557 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Potato Growers Association, Grafton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011042193 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Adams City Of, Adams City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011043502 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Park River City Of, Park River
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011045029 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Tri-Campbell Farms, Grafton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011042442 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Edinburg City Of, Edinburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011043904 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Marvin Windows And Doors, Grafton
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022355501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Marvin Windows And Doors, Grafton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022355501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Minto Muni, Minto
Public airport. O.
Record ID D06 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Hutson Fld, Grafton
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID GAF (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Park River - W C Skjerven Fld, Park River
Public airport. O.
Record ID Y37 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/835934580 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Fairdale City Of, Fairdale
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011043913 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Hoople City Of, Hoople
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011043977 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Minto Lagoon, Minto
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040032540 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

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 Walsh 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 Walsh 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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