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Pennington County, South Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Pennington County is 145.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 595 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (218), Rail grade crossing (146), Gas station (mapped facility) (77). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 44.1026, -103.031.

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 Pennington County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.1	3.4	1.5xSignificant	3.6 to 7.1	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.9	2	1.45x	1.8 to 4.4	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	6.1	4.4	1.39x	4.3 to 8.3	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.1	23.8	1.18xSignificant	24.1 to 32.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.3	3.7	1.16x	2.9 to 6.1	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	21.3	18.7	1.14x	18.1 to 25	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5	4.6	1.09x	3.5 to 7.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.9	5.7	1.04x	4.2 to 8.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.3	17.9	1.02x	15.1 to 22	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.3	6.2	1.02x	4.4 to 8.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	145.2	143.2	1.01x	136.5 to 154.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	30.5	30.2	1.01x	26.6 to 34.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	51.7	51.8	1x	46.7 to 57.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.5	13.9	0.97x	10.8 to 16.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	440.2	453.4	0.97x	424.4 to 456.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.8	11.3	0.96x	8.5 to 13.6	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.9	4.1	0.95x	2.6 to 5.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.2	6.6	0.94x	4.4 to 8.4	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	12	13	0.92x	9.3 to 15.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13	14.5	0.9x	10.3 to 16.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.3	4.8	0.9x	2.8 to 6.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.5	18.5	0.84x	12.7 to 18.7	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.1	6.6	0.77x	3.5 to 7.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.5	8.7	0.75x	4.7 to 8.7	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 Pennington County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,606.1	9,842.6	+8%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.1	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	73.6	59.8	+23%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.4	6.2	-13%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	103	96.9	+6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	12.6	28.6	-56%	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.

Formaldehyde11.71 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.69 per million
Acetaldehyde0.9 per million
Naphthalene0.74 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 364 days: 282 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 32, peak 107.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit218
Rail grade crossing146
Gas station (mapped facility)77
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)40
Air permit holder (minor source)29
Small hazardous waste generator22
Major air pollution source12
Scrapyard (mapped facility)7
TRI reporting facility7
Brownfield property6
Heliport6
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)6
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)4
Large greenhouse gas emitter4
Public airport3
Gas power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
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.

Gcc Dacotah, Rapid City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium, Copper, Lead And Lead Compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 144,503 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 57702STHDK501NO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Gcc Dacotah, Rapid City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070834910 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
Midwest Manufacturing Inc Dba Dakota Panel, Rapid City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 10,187 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 57709MRLLT4300S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Pete Lien & Sons Inc, Rapid City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Lead compounds, Barium And Barium Compounds, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) and 3 more. 182,763 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 57702PTLNS3401U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Pete Lien &Amp; Sons, Inc., Rapid City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004948647 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Midwest Manufacturing Dba Dakota Panel, Rapid City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010367021 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Ellsworth Air Force Base, Ellsworth Afb
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032904472 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Gcc Dacotah, Rapid City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070834910 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Rapid City Rgnl, Rapid City
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID RAP (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Rapid City Water Reclamation Facility, Rapid City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009792545 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Forterra Concrete Products - Rapid City, Rapid City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 5770WFRTRR161CU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Forest Products Distributors, Rapid City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007840408 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Gcc Dacotah, Rapid City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070834910 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Forest Products Distributors Inc, Rapid City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Arsenic compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 57701FRSTPRR2BO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Hubbard Feeds,Incorporated, Rapid City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000428083 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Magellan Pipeline Co, Lp - Rapid City, Rapid City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009790574 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Midwest Manufacturing Dba Dakota Panel, Rapid City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010367021 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Forterra Concrete Products - Rapid City, Rapid City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069319277 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Gcc Dacotah, Rapid City
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070834910 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
CREDIT UNION, Rapid City
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 461030020 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4
Pete Lien &Amp; Sons, Inc., Rapid City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004948647 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Black Hills Corporation - Ben French Power Plant, Rapid City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012375599 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Lange Generating Station, Rapid City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028229030 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Simon Contractors Of Sd Inc., Rapid City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032744378 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
South Dakota Ellsworth Development Authority (Sdeda), Box Elder
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046338655 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

New Women'S Correctional Facility, Rapid City
EPA FRS registry ID
110071729134
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Pennington 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 Pennington 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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