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McCook County, South Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in McCook County is 216.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 47 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (19), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (14), 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: 43.6744, -97.368.

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 McCook County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	52.4	30.2	1.74xSignificant	31.3 to 83.3	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	216.4	143.2	1.51xSignificant	170.4 to 271.7	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	573.4	453.4	1.26xSignificant	494.9 to 661.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	62.9	51.8	1.21x	40.1 to 95.2	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 McCook County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,584.3	9,842.6	-33%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.7	75.3	+2%	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	92.4	96.9	-5%	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.

Formaldehyde12.87 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde1.03 per million
Benzene0.57 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing19
NPDES wastewater discharge permit14
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Brownfield property2
Major air pollution source1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Kaneb Pipe Line Operating Partnership, Salem
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007756892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Former Sabers Oil Company Bulk Site, Canistota
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038763353 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Salem Armory, Salem
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973146 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Salem, City Of, Salem
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006692506 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Canistota, City Of, Canistota
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009791500 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Bridgewater, City Of, Bridgewater
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006692418 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Montrose, City Of, Montrose
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006663146 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sd Dot - Salem Rest Area, Salem
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063214668 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Phase 3 Infrastructure Improvements, Canistota
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071322318 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cedar Bluffs Addition, Canistota
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071725813 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pcn 07w6, Salem
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071920432 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pcn 08we, Salem
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071993162 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Colonial Estates Addition, Salem
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072002495 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Spencer Quarries Shop Addition, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072084455 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Grant Solar, Monroe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072156718 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Grant Solar 345kv Transmission Line, Canistota
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072203573 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Line 0779 Rebuild Ph2, Salem
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072229172 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
436th Avenue, Bridgewater
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 385966E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Spencer Quarries Inc, Spencer
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110038045059 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Spencer Quarries Inc, Spencer
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110062714781 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Spencer Quarries Inc, Spencer
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110062714807 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
440th Avenue, Dolton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 385958M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
439th Avenue, Dolton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 385959U (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
267th Street, Dolton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 385960N (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1
438th Avenue, Dolton
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 385961V (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1

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 McCook 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 McCook 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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