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Jackson County, South Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Jackson County is 228.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 78 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (46), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (16), Gas station (mapped facility) (8). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 10 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: 43.6919, -101.6313.

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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 Jackson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	228.9	143.2	1.6xSignificant	155.8 to 324.4	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	435.4	453.4	0.96x	330.1 to 563.3	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 Jackson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	24,380.1	9,842.6	+148%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	64.1	75.3	-15%	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	165.9	96.9	+71%	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: 10 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde9.99 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.78 per million
Acetaldehyde0.68 per million
Benzene0.42 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 287 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 43, peak 85.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing46
NPDES wastewater discharge permit16
Gas station (mapped facility)8
Heliport2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Brownfield property1
Landfill (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.

SOUTH OF BADLANDS NP HEADQUARTERS
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 460710001 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5.1
Ponderosa Campground, Kadoka
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970791 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Potato Creek Community Lagoon, Interior
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020148357 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Kadoka Muni, Kadoka
Public airport. O.
Record ID 5V8 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/563654973 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Usnps-Badlands National Park, Interior
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006870234 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Yesway Store 1178, Kadoka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009791074 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kadoka, City Of, Kadoka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009791421 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Interior, Town Of, Interior
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009791617 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Crazy Horse Day School, Wanblee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012371370 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wanblee (Osha) Lagoon, Wanblee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020148400 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lakota Fund Housing Lagoon, Wanblee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037106985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sd Dot - Belvidere Rest Area Westbound, Belvidere
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063214711 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sd Dot - Belvidere Rest Area Eastbound, Belvidere
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063214720 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Highway 73 Wastewater Improvements, Kadoka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071322144 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sdsu - Sclb 6026, Aes Cottonwood Field Station Renovations And Upgrades, Philip
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071847228 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pcn 05hv - Epa, Kadoka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071863903 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Poplar St. Wastewater And Water Improvements And North Wastewater Improvements, Kadoka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071944096 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pcn 09md - Epa, Wanblee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072002817 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pcn 07y4, Kadoka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072103848 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Us 14, Cottonwood
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 190026Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Road, Philip
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 190020H (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Philip
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 190021P (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Cottonwood
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 190022W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private Road, Cottonwood
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 190023D (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2

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 Jackson 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 Jackson 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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