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Hand County, South Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Hand County is 196.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 68 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (39), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (23), Air permit holder (minor source) (2). 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: 44.5427, -99.0009.

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 Hand County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	196.8	143.2	1.37x	141.8 to 268.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	496.3	453.4	1.09x	397.3 to 613.7	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 Hand County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,478.7	9,842.6	-34%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.5	75.3	+4%	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	69.6	96.9	-28%	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.

Formaldehyde11.44 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde0.83 per million
Benzene0.51 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing39
NPDES wastewater discharge permit23
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Gas station (mapped facility)1
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.

Miller, City Of (Wtp), Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006692329 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Sunshine Bible Academy, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012954856 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Miller Muni, Miller
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID MKA (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
St. Lawrence, Town Of, St. Lawrence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010952424 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Wessington Wwtf, Wessington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009791305 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mid-Dakota Rural Water System (Wtp), Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042378995 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sd Soybean Processors - Miller Facility, Saint Lawrence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071092675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Phase 3 Utility Improvements, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071277107 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ratio Llc, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071279506 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Site G012, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071321181 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Martinmaas Dam, Orient
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071321560 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Site G010, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071322691 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Site G011, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071323076 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sweetland Transmission Line Project, Wessington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071370258 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
City Of St Lawrence, Saint Lawrence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071526924 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Phase 4 Utility Improvements, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071867318 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mid Dakota Rural Water System, Contract 4-7, Schedule 2 & 3, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071946218 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pcn 08mv, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072082527 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pcn 08mq, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072084215 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wessington Springs Expansion Contract 4-8, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072146412 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pcn 09ly, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072191247 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pcn 09mk, Wessington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072202849 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Airport Connector Taxiway And Access Road, Miller
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072229427 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pcn 09mp, Ree Heights
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072250120 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
County Street, Wessington
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 189732M (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 Hand 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 Hand 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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