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Marathon County, Wisconsin: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Marathon County is 132.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 751 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (293), Rail grade crossing (148), Gas station (mapped facility) (77). 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: 44.8972, -89.7695.

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 Marathon County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	New cases	17.5	14.5	1.21xSignificant	14.8 to 20.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.6	18.7	1.16x	18.7 to 24.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.3	4.8	1.1x	4 to 7.1	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.2	5.7	1.09x	4.7 to 8.1	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	17.8	16.4	1.09x	11.2 to 27	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.9	3.7	1.05x	2.7 to 5.4	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.1	2	1.05x	1.3 to 3.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.5	13.9	1.04x	12.2 to 17.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.1	18.5	1.03x	16.3 to 22.2	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.2	4.1	1.02x	3 to 5.8	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.6	4.6	1x	3.3 to 6.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.3	11.3	1x	9.3 to 13.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	438.3	453.4	0.97x	424.5 to 452.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	22.9	23.8	0.96x	19.7 to 26.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.2	17.9	0.96x	14.5 to 20.2	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.2	4.4	0.95x	2.9 to 5.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.2	3.4	0.94x	2.2 to 4.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	132.4	143.2	0.92x	125.1 to 140	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	12	13	0.92x	9.5 to 14.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	46.4	51.8	0.9x	42.2 to 51	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.5	6.2	0.89x	4 to 7.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	26.6	30.2	0.88x	23.4 to 30.1	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.4	6.6	0.82x	4 to 7.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	4.7	6.6	0.71x	3.4 to 6.4	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	1.9	2.7	0.7x	1.2 to 3.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	4.8	8.7	0.55x	3.5 to 6.6	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 Marathon County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,974.4	9,842.6	-29%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.4	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	53.5	59.8	-10%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.4	6.2	-29%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	70.2	96.9	-28%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	16.1	28.6	-44%	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.

Formaldehyde12.94 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Naphthalene1.5 per million
Acetaldehyde1.49 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 342 days: 262 good, 9 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 168.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit293
Rail grade crossing148
Gas station (mapped facility)77
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)36
TRI reporting facility35
Small hazardous waste generator27
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)25
Brownfield property25
Major air pollution source17
Air permit holder (minor source)15
Large hazardous waste generator11
Hazardous waste transporter10
Public airport8
Large greenhouse gas emitter4
Superfund (NPL) site4
Biomass power plant3
Commercial airport2
Heliport2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Hydroelectric plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Coal power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)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.

Mid-State Disposal, Inc. Landfill, Cleveland Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 35.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID WID980823082 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Spickler Landfill, Spencer
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 44.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID WID980902969 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Wausau Ground Water Contamination, Wausau
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 28.9. NPL Site.
EPA site ID WID980993521 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Unity Auto Mart, Unity
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID WIN000505544 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Mullins Cheese Factory-300, Mosinee
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010884481 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.9
Crystal Finishing Systems Inc, Schofield
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $350,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001928175 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
Ahlstrom Mosinee Llc, Mosinee
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000422043 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.5
Mullins Cheese Inc, Marshfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002034496 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.3
Ahlstrom Mosinee Llc, Mosinee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Ammonia, Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,595,721 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54455MSNPP100MA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Weston Power Plant, Mosinee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Hydrogen fluoride, Ammonia, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,494,833 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54474WSTNP2501M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.2
3m Wausau - Greystone Plant, Wausau
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007332118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.2
3m Co - Wausau - Greystone, Wausau
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 215,581 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54401MGRYSNFOUR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Domtar Paper Co Llc, Rothschild
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ammonia, Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 198,416 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54474WYRHS200GR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Mullins Cheese Inc, Mosinee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid, Peracetic acid. 10,883,923 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54455MLLNS598SE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Domtar Corp, Rothschild
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000422141 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.4
Crystal Finishing Systems Inc, Schofield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, Certain glycol ethers, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 85,030 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54476CRYST2608R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Linetec Paint/Plastics, Wausau
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Toluene, Certain glycol ethers, Dimethyl phthalate and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 82,313 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54401LNTTX725S7 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Borregaard Usa Inc, Rothschild
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000594205 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.1
Crystal Finishing Systems Inc - Mosinee, Mosinee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Methyl isobutyl ketone, Certain glycol ethers, Ethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 23,505 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54455SNNTR1000S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Mullins Cheese Inc, Marshfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid, Peracetic acid. 1,995,024 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54449DLWSSM447C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Borregaard Usa Inc., Rothschild
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Phenol, Methanol. Reports carcinogens. 17,278 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54474RDLGNBUSHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Gpi Corp, Schofield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 16,318 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54476GPCRP101NO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
3m Co - Wausau Downtown, Wausau
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000421776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.7
Merrill Iron & Steel Inc., Schofield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Manganese, Nickel, Chromium and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 12,968 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54476JCSCM900AL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Weston, Kronenwetter
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043779783 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6

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 Marathon 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 Marathon 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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