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Brown County, South Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Brown County is 138.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 282 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (117), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (51), Gas station (mapped facility) (30). 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: 45.5899, -98.3509.

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 Brown County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	39.3	23.8	1.65xSignificant	31.1 to 49.2	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	7.5	4.6	1.63x	4.3 to 12.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	25.9	18.7	1.39xSignificant	19.9 to 33.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7.6	5.7	1.33x	4.6 to 12.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.4	17.9	1.2x	15.7 to 28.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.9	14.5	1.17x	12.1 to 23.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	56.2	51.8	1.08x	47.1 to 66.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	487.7	453.4	1.08xSignificant	459.1 to 517.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.3	30.2	0.97x	23 to 36.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	138.6	143.2	0.97x	124.2 to 154.4	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	10.7	13	0.82x	6.5 to 16.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.1	11.3	0.81x	5.8 to 13.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	10.9	13.9	0.78x	7.2 to 16.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	11.7	18.5	0.63x	7.7 to 17.3	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 Brown County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,876.2	9,842.6	-30%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.5	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	37	59.8	-38%	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	64.8	96.9	-33%	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 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde1 per million
Benzene0.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 360 days: 301 good, 6 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 27, peak 115.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing117
NPDES wastewater discharge permit51
Gas station (mapped facility)30
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)25
Small hazardous waste generator10
Air permit holder (minor source)9
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)8
Major air pollution source7
TRI reporting facility6
Public airport5
Brownfield property4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Gas power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
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.

Poet Holding Co Llc, Groton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Methanol, Formic acid and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 99,381 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 57445JMSVL44251 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Hub City Energy Llc, Aberdeen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetaldehyde, n-Hexane, Methanol, Benzene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 74,694 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 57401HRTLN38469 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Ag Processing Inc, Aberdeen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane. 1,507,729 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5740WGPRCS48158 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Ag Processing, Inc.- Aberdeen Soybean Processing Plant, Aberdeen
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070675425 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Abe South Dakota Llc, Aberdeen
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $27,507.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428038 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
New Angus, Llc, Aberdeen
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $146,463.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070292353 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
New Angus Llc, Aberdeen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Peracetic acid, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 130,860 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5740WNWNGS13135 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Poet Biorefining - Groton, Groton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015598147 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Twin City Fan Cos Aberdeen, Aberdeen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 10 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 57401TCFRV515CO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Aberdeen Rgnl, Aberdeen
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ABR (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Hub City Energy Llc, Aberdeen
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001676240 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Ag Processing, Inc.- Aberdeen Soybean Processing Plant, Aberdeen
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070675425 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Twin City Fan Companies Ltd Dba Tcf Aerovent Co., Aberdeen
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002124228 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Aberdeen Bus Stop, Aberdeen
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 460130004 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4
Gcc-Aberdeen, Aberdeen
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055498714 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hutterville Colony, Stratford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059712663 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Northwestern Energy (Aberdeen), Aberdeen
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007186099 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Basin Electric Power Cooperative Groton Generating, Groton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039622361 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Aberdeen Wwt, Aberdeen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000760766 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kanel Pipe Line Terminal, Aberdeen
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001676473 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Lien Transportation Company, Aberdeen
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006120367 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Columbia, City Of, Columbia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009705462 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Poet Biorefining - Groton, Groton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015598147 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ag Processing, Inc.- Aberdeen Soybean Processing Plant, Aberdeen
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070675425 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Groton Generating Station, Groton
Gas power plant.
Record ID 56238 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.2

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 Brown 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 Brown 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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