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Aurora County, South Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Aurora County is 175.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 51 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (27), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (11), Gas station (mapped facility) (6). 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: 43.713, -98.5603.

How this county ranks in South 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 Aurora County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	175.4	143.2	1.22x	122.2 to 246.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	534.6	453.4	1.18x	429.3 to 659.4	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 Aurora County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,790.3	9,842.6	-11%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.9	75.3	+1%	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	72.5	96.9	-25%	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.

Formaldehyde12.31 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde0.95 per million
Benzene0.47 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing27
NPDES wastewater discharge permit11
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Wind power plant2
Brownfield property1
Scrapyard (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.

Horizon Health Care, Plankinton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975447 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
White Lake, White Lake
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012998818 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Plankinton, City Of, Plankinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012684247 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Stickney, Town Of, Stickney
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009791831 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sd Dot - White Lake Rest Area Westbound, White Lake
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063214677 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sd Dot - White Lake Rest Area Eastbound, White Lake
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063214686 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rcwd - Regional Waterline Project - Stickney To Mitchell, Stickney
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071928013 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Manure Shed, Plankinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072001092 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ringneck & Western Railroad - Efficiency & Growth Project - Transload Yard, Plankinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072002226 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rcwd - Regional Waterline Project - Platte To Stickney, Stickney
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072151307 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pcn 08k8, Plankinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072199773 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Coffee Cup, Plankinton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID x4e525ce702fb0e631f05fba0c647a608 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
393th Avenue, Mount Vernon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386056L (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
392nd Avenue, Mount Vernon
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386057T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
391st Avenue, Plankinton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386058A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
389th Avenue, Plankinton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386059G (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Us 281, Plankinton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386060B (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Sd 203, Plankinton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386061H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Campbell Street, Plankinton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386062P (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Main Street, Plankinton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386063W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
385th Avenue, Plankinton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386064D (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
384th Avenue, Plankinton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386065K (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
383th Avenue, Plankinton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386066S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Road, Plankinton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386067Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
380th Avenue, Plankinton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 386068F (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 Aurora County

South 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 Aurora County, and their findings.
South 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.
South Dakota health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
South 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.
South 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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