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Adams County, Wisconsin: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Adams County is 164.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Brain & nervous system deaths at 2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 84 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (34), Rail grade crossing (26), Gas station (mapped facility) (8). 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: 43.9439, -89.7768.

How this county ranks in Wisconsin

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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 Adams County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	8.9	4.4	2.02xSignificant	4.5 to 16.6	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	29.8	18.7	1.59xSignificant	22.6 to 39.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	22.8	14.5	1.57xSignificant	15.2 to 33.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	78.5	51.8	1.52xSignificant	66.9 to 92.4	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	6.4	4.6	1.39x	3.7 to 12.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	19	13.9	1.37x	13.5 to 27.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.3	17.9	1.36x	16.7 to 34.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.6	6.6	1.3x	5.4 to 14.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	14.6	11.3	1.29x	9.8 to 22.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.4	30.2	1.24x	29.5 to 47.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	164.6	143.2	1.15xSignificant	146.6 to 185	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	518.4	453.4	1.14xSignificant	483.5 to 555.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.4	18.5	1.05x	12.5 to 29.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.5	8.7	0.98x	5.2 to 14.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.9	23.8	0.92x	14.7 to 32.2	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 Adams County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,056.4	9,842.6	+12%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.9	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	79.9	59.8	+34%	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	135.7	96.9	+40%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	28.8	28.6	+1%	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.

Formaldehyde13.66 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.32 per million
Benzene0.85 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit34
Rail grade crossing26
Gas station (mapped facility)8
Public airport4
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Major air pollution source1
Brownfield property1
Heliport1
Hydroelectric plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Fci Oxford, Oxford
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060258858 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.4
Fci Oxford, Grand Marsh
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 8,339 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5393WFCXFRCRNER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Grande Cheese Co Friendship, Friendship
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009519654 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Friendship, Friendship
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid. 5,641 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53934GRNDC1007W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Friendship Sewage Collection System, Friendship
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070936951 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
New Chester Renewable Energy, Llc, Grand Marsh
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046122432 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Easton Store, Grand Marsh
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015331194 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Adams Wastewater Treatment Facility, Friendship
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010894498 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Grande Cheese Co Friendship, Friendship
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009519654 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Adams County Legion Fld, Friendship (Adams)
Public airport. O.
Record ID 63C (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Burr Oak Heifers Llc, Coloma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005459814 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lake Arrowhead, Nekoosa
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016900745 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Adams County Resource Recovery Lf, Friendship
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060642452 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
New Chester Dairy Llc, New Chester, Town Of
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064619248 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dells Boat Tours Llc (Witches Gulch), Wisconsin Dells
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070010991 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dells Boat Tours Llc (Cold Water Canyon), Dell Prairie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070016350 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hancock Village Wwtf, Hancock
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070100470 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wisconsin Dells Sewage Collection System, Wisconsin Dells
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070938058 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Becks Salvage Yard, Big Flats
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070938848 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
6th Ave Auto Salvage, Colburn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070939257 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Harpers Salvage Sales & Service Llc, Springville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070939345 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Harpers Salvage Sales And Service, Wisconsin Dells
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070939615 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
John Buck Sr., Preston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070940747 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Alpine Foods, Llc, Rome
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071095203 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Janesville Sand & Gravel - Lycon Inc, Adams
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071096299 (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 Adams County

Wisconsin 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 Adams County, and their findings.
Wisconsin vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Wisconsin health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Wisconsin 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.
Wisconsin 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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