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Polk County, Nebraska: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Polk County is 171.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 105 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (53), Air permit holder (minor source) (25), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (17). 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: 41.228, -97.57.

How this county ranks in Nebraska

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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 Polk County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	36.4	30.2	1.21x	20.5 to 62.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	171.1	143.2	1.19x	132.3 to 219.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	50.9	51.8	0.98x	30.8 to 81.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	387.8	453.4	0.86x	323.8 to 461.9	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 Polk County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,161.6	9,842.6	-27%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.7	75.3	+2%	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	119.1	96.9	+23%	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.

Formaldehyde13.99 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde1.11 per million
Ethylene Oxide0.55 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing53
Air permit holder (minor source)25
NPDES wastewater discharge permit17
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Major air pollution source1
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.

Osceola Terminal, Osceola
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008928429 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Stromsburg Wastewater Treatment Facility, Stromsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011036093 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Osceola Wastewater Treatment, Osceola
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009841127 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Sundberg, Inc., Stromsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028118908 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Golden West Feedyards, Inc, Shelby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037939693 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Van Housen Feed Yard, Llc, Stromsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039181168 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mid-Plains Cattle Co Llc, Shelby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039184334 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Norm Witt Feed Yards Inc., Shelby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039184370 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dey Land & Cattle, Gresham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040440118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cedar Bluffs Ranch, Osceola
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045774792 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hayes Feed Yards Inc Recklings, Osceola
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045775719 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Metzner Cattle Company, Osceola
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045796769 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Don Conkling Feedlot, Osceola
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045819441 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
A Rue Cattle Co, Osceola
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045854517 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Guy Leif Feedyards, Stromsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045902573 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Golden West Feedyards, Inc, Shelby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070693513 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Seuntjens Land & Cattle, Osceola
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071953434 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Double Dutch Dairy, Shelby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072003217 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Us 81 / A Road, Shelby
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815531A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
County Road 131, Osceola
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815532G (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
County Road P, Osceola
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815533N (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
County Road Q, Osceola
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815534V (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
County Road R, Shelby
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815535C (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
County Road S, Shelby
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815536J (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
County Road T, Shelby
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 815537R (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 Polk County

Nebraska 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 Polk County, and their findings.
Nebraska vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Nebraska health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Nebraska 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.
Nebraska 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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