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Sanborn County, South Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Sanborn County is 130.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 48 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (37), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (4), Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility) (3). 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: 44.0171, -98.0913.

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 Sanborn County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	New cases	610.1	453.4	1.35xSignificant	487 to 756.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	130.7	143.2	0.91x	80.2 to 204.7	2020-2024

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 Sanborn County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,199.9	9,842.6	-27%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.4	75.3	+3%	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	117.8	96.9	+21%	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.

Formaldehyde12.53 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.03 per million
Benzene0.52 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing37
NPDES wastewater discharge permit4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Gas station (mapped facility)2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1

Highest-severity records

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

Letcher, Town Of, Letcher
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006692445 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Artesian, Town Of, Artesian
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056979079 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Woonsocket, City Of, Woonsocket
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069574552 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Joe Davis Feedlot, Forestburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072001367 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
244th Street, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394648S (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
243rd Street, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394650T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
404th Avenue, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394651A (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
242nd Street, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394652G (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
State Street, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394653N (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Main Street, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394655C (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394656J (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
403rd Avenue, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394657R (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
402nd Ave, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394659E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
402nd Avenue, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394660Y (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
401st Avenue, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394662M (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
238th Street, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394663U (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394664B (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
236th Street, Letcher
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394667W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
399th Avenue, Woonsocket
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394670E (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
235th Street, Woonsocket
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394671L (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
234th Street, Woonsocket
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394672T (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
233rd Street, Woonsocket
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394674G (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
398th Avenue, Woonsocket
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394675N (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Woonsocket
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394676V (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.2
Private, Woonsocket
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 394678J (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 Sanborn 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 Sanborn 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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