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Union County, South Dakota: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Union County is 144.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 163 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (88), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (44), Gas station (mapped facility) (10). 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: 42.7812, -96.7136.

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 Union County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	23.5	13	1.81xSignificant	14.2 to 36.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	41.7	23.8	1.75xSignificant	29.5 to 57.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	19.4	14.5	1.34x	11.4 to 30.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	23	18.5	1.24x	14.7 to 34.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.1	17.9	1.12x	12.1 to 31.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	508.9	453.4	1.12xSignificant	466.2 to 554.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	54.5	51.8	1.05x	41.9 to 70.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	144.1	143.2	1.01x	122.6 to 168.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	13.7	13.9	0.99x	7.7 to 23.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.3	18.7	0.93x	10.6 to 27.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	27.3	30.2	0.9x	18.8 to 38.8	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 Union County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	4,782.9	9,842.6	-51%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	80.8	75.3	+7%	years
Child mortality	63.6	59.8	+6%	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	53.9	96.9	-44%	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.

Formaldehyde14.45 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.21 per million
Benzene0.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing88
NPDES wastewater discharge permit44
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Small hazardous waste generator4
Public airport3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Brownfield property3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Wastewater plant (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.

Load King Trailers, Elk Point
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Lead and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 23 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 57025LDKNGCORNE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Royal Canin Usa Inc, North Sioux City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045562235 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.6
Beresford, City Of, Beresford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009792386 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Royal Canin Usa Inc., North Sioux City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 37 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 57049MRSPT63NDE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.2
Terex Load King Div, Elk Point
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001137065 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Consumer Supply - North Sioux, North Sioux City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070931785 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Former Bosse Oil Company Property, Elk Point
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038755647 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Alcester Grain And Feed, Alcester
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039689085 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Alcester School Building, Alcester
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972484 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Consumers Supply - North Sioux, North Sioux City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds, Zinc (fume or dust).
TRI facility ID 5704WCNSMR718ND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Alkota Cleaning Systems Inc, Alcester
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039204517 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Alkota Cleaning Systems Inc, Alcester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039204517 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
North Sioux City, City Of, North Sioux City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009791957 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Graham Fld, North Sioux City
Public airport. O.
Record ID 7K7 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
North Sioux City Sewage Treatment Facility, North Sioux City
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID relation/17289368 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Elk Point, City Of, Elk Point
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009791706 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Alcester, City Of, Alcester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009791902 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Clay Rural Water System - Wynstone, North Sioux City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020846290 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Terex Load King Div, Elk Point
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001137065 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Terex Load King Div, Elk Point
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001137065 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Custom Coils Inc, Alcester
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004947238 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dakota Dunes (Wtp), Dakota Dunes
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006692141 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Coffee Cup Fuel Stops, Burbank
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009790627 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lanast Llc Dba Arctic Ice, North Sioux City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010813129 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
L.G. Everist Inc. (Nwia), Beresford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014332123 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Union 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 Union 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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