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Defiance County, Ohio: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Defiance County is 165.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 186 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (67), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (26), Air permit holder (minor source) (14). 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: 41.2865, -84.5155.

How this county ranks in Ohio

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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 Defiance County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	7.6	4.6	1.65x	4.5 to 12.1	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	6.7	4.1	1.63x	4 to 10.8	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	28.4	18.7	1.52xSignificant	22.2 to 35.9	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	5.6	3.7	1.51x	3.1 to 9.6	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	20.9	14.5	1.44xSignificant	15.4 to 27.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	73.4	51.8	1.42xSignificant	63.5 to 84.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7.9	5.7	1.39x	5 to 12.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	23.8	18.5	1.29x	18 to 30.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.6	17.9	1.26x	16.7 to 30	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6	4.8	1.25x	3.5 to 9.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	36.7	30.2	1.22x	30 to 44.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	165.6	143.2	1.16xSignificant	150.4 to 181.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	489.7	453.4	1.08xSignificant	462.4 to 518.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.6	13	0.89x	7.3 to 17.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.1	23.8	0.89x	15.6 to 28.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9	11.3	0.8x	5.8 to 13.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	9.5	13.9	0.68x	6.1 to 14.2	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 Defiance County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,496.1	9,842.6	-14%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.2	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	41.6	59.8	-30%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.5	6.2	+21%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	87.2	96.9	-10%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	28.9	28.6	+1%	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.

Formaldehyde16.06 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.5 per million
Benzene1.01 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing67
NPDES wastewater discharge permit26
Air permit holder (minor source)14
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Scrapyard (mapped facility)10
Brownfield property9
Major air pollution source8
TRI reporting facility8
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)8
Small hazardous waste generator6
Large hazardous waste generator4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Hydroelectric plant1
Gas power plant1
Wastewater plant (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.

Johns Manville Corp Plant 8, Defiance
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Formaldehyde, Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. Reports carcinogens. 1,143,139 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 43512MNVLLCARPE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Johns Manville Plant 2, Defiance
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Formaldehyde, Zinc compounds, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 293,227 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 43512MNVLLTHIRD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
General Motors Llc Global Propulsion Systems -Defiance, Defiance
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Phenol, Naphthalene, Lead, Copper and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 221,738 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 43512GMCXXSTATE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Fwt Llc, Hicksville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium. 190,455 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 43526DTRCH761WH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Johns Manville International Inc Plant No 8, Defiance
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000383549 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Defiance Metal Products, Defiance
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 1,463 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4351WDFNCM6728S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Gm Defiance Casting Operations, Defiance
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000383521 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Dietrich Ind, Hicksville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000383610 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Johns Manville Plant No 2, Defiance
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000745739 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Defiance Metal Products, Defiance
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042000928 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Defiance Water Pollution Control Plant, Defiance
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000544082 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Defiance Water Treatment Plant, Defiance
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000573647 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Village Of Sherwood, Sherwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009823254 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Parker Hannifin Corp., Hicksville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 43526PRKRH373ME (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Gt Technologies Defiance Plant 1, Defiance
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Chromium. 83 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 43512DFNCP1125P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Gt Technologies, Defiance
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000383512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Defiance Precision Products, Defiance
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002346202 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.1
Gm Defiance Casting Operations, Defiance
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000383521 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Johns Manville International Inc Plant No 8, Defiance
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000383549 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Glycerin Traders Llc, Defiance
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110004679786 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ney Village, Ney
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008634157 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Parker Hannifin Corp., Hicksville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012705527 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Country Meadows Mhp, Defiance
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006230970 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Hicksville Wwtp, Hicksville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006329026 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Middle Gordon Creek Wwtp & Sewers, Hicksville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039701891 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8

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 Defiance County

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