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Forest County, Wisconsin: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Forest County is 147.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 89 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (38), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (34), Gas station (mapped facility) (10). One correctional facility operates in the county. EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 10 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: 45.7362, -88.8616.

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 Forest County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	47.4	17.9	2.65xSignificant	30.9 to 70.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	67	51.8	1.29x	50.6 to 88.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	147.1	143.2	1.03x	120.6 to 179	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	30.9	30.2	1.02x	20.1 to 47.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	462.5	453.4	1.02x	411.2 to 519.3	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 Forest County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,728.5	9,842.6	+19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.1	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	138.2	96.9	+43%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	43.5	28.6	+52%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 10 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde9.1 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde0.89 per million
Benzene0.64 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 361 days: 271 good, 14 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 39, peak 182.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing38
NPDES wastewater discharge permit34
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Public airport2
EPA air quality monitor1
Brownfield property1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)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.

POTAWATOMI
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 550410007 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5.7
Crandon Recirculating Sand Filter/Stone Lake Wwtp, Crandon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010884221 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Sokaogon Chippewa Wastewater Treatment System, Crandon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064633794 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Laona Sanitary District Wastewater Treatment Facility, Laona
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010887709 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Wabeno Sanitary District #1, Wabeno
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039722299 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Mole Lake Smoke Shop, Crandon
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072154691 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Crandon Wastewater Treatment Facility, Crandon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016929163 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Crandon/Steve Conway Muni, Crandon
Public airport. O.
Record ID Y55 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Nicolet Hardwoods Corp, Laona
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110002034263 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Chief Webeka Drive Extension, Wabeno
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070100475 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Carter Wastewater Treatment Facility, Wabeno
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070211932 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Carter Community Wastewater Treatment Facility, Wabeno
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070229132 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pcch Solar Array Installation, Wabeno
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070256759 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Community Center, Crandon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070561415 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Potawatomi C-Store, Wabeno
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070601997 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dj'S Recycling Services, Caswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070938324 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Forest Sawmill Inc, Wabeno
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071093852 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Forest County Highway Department, Crandon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071096149 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Flannery Trucking Inc, Crandon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071097773 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Midwest Wi, Llc Site, Wabeno
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071143850 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Forest County Site, Lincoln
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071146598 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Forest County Site, Lincoln
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071149073 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wis Dot - 9130-00-00, Wabeno
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071178984 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
International Veneer & Timber Llc, Wabeno
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071204561 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sugarbush Lane Housing Project, Wabeno
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071297491 (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.

Forest County Courthouse Campus; Old Jail, Crandon
EPA FRS registry ID
110071077956
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Forest 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 Forest 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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