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Ward County, North Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ward County is 135.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 485 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (227), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (127), Brownfield property (31). 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: 48.3474, -101.4681.

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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 Ward County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	19.8	13	1.52xSignificant	15.1 to 25.4	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	5.6	3.7	1.51x	3.4 to 8.8	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.2	4.8	1.29x	3.8 to 9.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	16.4	14.5	1.13x	12.5 to 21.2	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.2	4.6	1.13x	3 to 8.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.6	18.7	1.1x	16.2 to 25.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.5	4.4	1.02x	2.5 to 7.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.6	30.2	0.98x	24.2 to 35.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17	17.9	0.95x	12.8 to 22.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	135.5	143.2	0.95x	123.7 to 148.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	417.8	453.4	0.92x	396.5 to 440	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	44.5	51.8	0.86x	37.8 to 52	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.2	6.2	0.84x	3 to 8.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	4.6	5.7	0.81x	2.7 to 7.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.3	23.8	0.77x	13.9 to 23.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.2	18.5	0.77x	10.6 to 18.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	8.4	11.3	0.74x	5.7 to 11.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	8.7	13.9	0.63x	5.9 to 12.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	4.8	8.7	0.55x	2.8 to 7.8	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 Ward County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,781.4	9,842.6	-21%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.5	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	43.8	59.8	-27%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5	6.2	-19%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	77.5	96.9	-20%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	22.3	28.6	-22%	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.

Formaldehyde11.95 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Benzene0.97 per million
Acetaldehyde0.82 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 364 days: 289 good, 12 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 283.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing227
NPDES wastewater discharge permit127
Brownfield property31
Gas station (mapped facility)30
Air permit holder (minor source)12
Public airport12
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)9
Small hazardous waste generator9
Scrapyard (mapped facility)8
Large hazardous waste generator4
Major air pollution source3
Commercial airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Heliport2
Wind power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Us Dod Usaf Minot Afb, Minot Afb
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $4,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022523492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.2
Us Dod Usaf Minot Afb, Minot Afb
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Ethylbenzene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 10,316 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 58705SRFRC32PEA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Us Dod Usaf Minot Afb, Minot Afb
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022523492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Us Dod Usaf Minot Afb, Minot Afb
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $4,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022523492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Us Dod Usaf Minot Afb, Minot Afb
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022523492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Ryder
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 381010003 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5.6
City Of Minot - Minot Landfill - Aq, Minot
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022358072 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Minot Intl, Minot
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID MOT (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
City Of Minot - Minot Landfill - Aq, Minot
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022358072 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Keller Paving & Landscaping-Portable Plant, Minot
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070054597 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Continental Metal Products Inc, Minot
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056182964 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Sawyer Disposal Services, Llc, Sawyer
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055509150 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Fiberglass Specialties, Minot
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006072524 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kenmare City Of, Kenmare
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022355850 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Dakota Wrecking And Salvage, Minot
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056222163 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wilbur Ellis Company, Minot
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022475169 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Winfield Solutions, Llc, Minot
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038238779 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Chs Minot Distribution, Minot
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071841125 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Trinity Hospital, Minot
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004064734 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Minot Public Schools-Heating, Minot
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011670913 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Douglas Public School Building, Douglas
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038741715 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Wells Fargo Bank, Minot
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064097686 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Oak Park Center, Minot
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970489 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Helm'S And Mork'S Storage/Gcm Dakota Properties, Minot
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970743 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Farmers Surplus, Minot
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970888 (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 Ward 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 Ward 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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