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Milwaukee County, Wisconsin: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Milwaukee County is 159.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Stomach deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate and Esophagus deaths at 1.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,988 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (417), Gas station (mapped facility) (284), Brownfield property (274). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 30 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: 43.0182, -87.9819.

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 Milwaukee County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	6.1	4.6	1.33xSignificant	5.5 to 6.9	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	3.5	2.7	1.3xSignificant	3 to 4.1	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	8.4	6.6	1.27xSignificant	7.6 to 9.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	63.2	51.8	1.22xSignificant	61 to 65.5	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.4	3.7	1.19xSignificant	3.8 to 5	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.4	13.9	1.18xSignificant	15.3 to 17.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21	17.9	1.17xSignificant	19.7 to 22.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17	14.5	1.17xSignificant	15.9 to 18.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.2	11.3	1.17xSignificant	12.3 to 14.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.2	18.5	1.15xSignificant	19.9 to 22.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.4	18.7	1.14xSignificant	20.1 to 22.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.5	5.7	1.14xSignificant	5.8 to 7.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.9	8.7	1.14xSignificant	9.1 to 10.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	34.3	30.2	1.14xSignificant	32.7 to 36	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	159.7	143.2	1.12xSignificant	156.2 to 163.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	504.1	453.4	1.11xSignificant	497.8 to 510.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7	6.6	1.06x	6.2 to 7.7	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	17.2	16.4	1.05x	14.6 to 20	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.5	6.2	1.05x	5.8 to 7.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.5	3.4	1.03x	3 to 4	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.2	4.1	1.02x	3.6 to 4.8	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.9	4.8	1.02x	4.3 to 5.6	2020-2024
Thyroid	Deaths	0.5	0.5	1x	0.3 to 0.7	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.2	4.4	0.95x	3.6 to 4.8	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.9	2	0.95x	1.5 to 2.3	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	11.1	13	0.85x	10.1 to 12.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	15.4	23.8	0.65x	14.3 to 16.6	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 Milwaukee County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,225.9	9,842.6	+14%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.3	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	75.3	59.8	+26%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.4	6.2	+35%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	140.6	96.9	+45%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	63.2	28.6	+121%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 30 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde14.61 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.98 per million
Naphthalene2.54 per million
Benzene1.55 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 228 good, 16 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 43, peak 175.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,988 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit417
Gas station (mapped facility)284
Brownfield property274
Rail grade crossing184
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)160
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)128
Small hazardous waste generator111
TRI reporting facility97
Air permit holder (minor source)91
Hazardous waste transporter68
Large hazardous waste generator66
Major air pollution source34
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)31
Large greenhouse gas emitter12
Scrapyard (mapped facility)7
Heliport5
EPA air quality monitor4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Commercial airport2
Biomass power plant2
Coal power plant2
Gas power plant2
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Solar power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

Moss-American Co., Inc. (Kerr-McGee Oil Co.), Milwaukee
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 32.1. NPL Site.
EPA site ID WID039052626 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Ppg Industries Inc-Oak Creek, Oak Creek
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, n-Butyl alcohol, Methyl methacrylate, Methyl isobutyl ketone and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,645,990 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53154PPGND10800 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Oak Creek Site, Oak Creek
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Ammonia, Hydrogen fluoride, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 720,931 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53154KCRKP4801E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Advanced Plating Technologies, Milwaukee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1-Bromopropane, Nitric acid, Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Cyanide compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 76,005 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53212RTSTC428WV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Brady Worldwide Inc Florist Avenue, Glendale
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 66,960 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53201WHBRD2230W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Thermo Fisher Scientific Milwaukee Llc, Milwaukee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dichloromethane, Acetonitrile, n-Hexane, Pyridine and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 46,481 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53202PHRMC2202N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Brenntag Great Lakes Llc, Menomonee Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Certain glycol ethers and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 32,649 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53051MLSLV14765 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Aldrich Chemical Co Llc Teutonia, Milwaukee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dichloromethane, Methanol, Chloroform, Formaldehyde and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 11,333 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53209MRCNN6000N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Badger Meter Inc, Milwaukee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Acrylonitrile, Copper And Copper Compounds, Nickel And Nickel Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 9,626 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53223BDGRM4545W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend Llc Milwaukee Terminal, Milwaukee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Benzene, Ethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 9,035 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53224MLWKF9343N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Clcm Oak Creek, Oak Creek
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,343,844.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000417736 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Ati Ladish Llc, Cudahy
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000417228 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Maynard Steel Casting Co, Milwaukee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Nickel, Lead And Lead Compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,673 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53215MYNRD2856S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Milwaukee Precision Casting, Milwaukee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Manganese, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 5,159 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5320WMLWKP34SNE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Materion Advanced Chemicals, Milwaukee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen fluoride, Arsenic And Arsenic Compounds, Zinc compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,070 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53233CRCNC407NO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Ppg Industries Inc - Oak Creek Facility, Oak Creek
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000417754 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Elm Road Generating Station, Oak Creek
Coal power plant.
Record ID 56068 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 7.3
Elite Finishing Llc, Milwaukee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,752 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53207ZCLNC3270S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Kingchem Laboratories Inc., Saint Francis
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Methanol, Dichloromethane. Reports carcinogens. 2,928 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53235LKSDC4170S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
South Oak Creek, Oak Creek
Coal power plant.
Record ID 4041 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 7.1
Tradebe Treatment & Recycling Of Wi, Milwaukee
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $20,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000702464 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Api Heat Transfer, Franklin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012148602 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Hentzen Coatings,Inc, Milwaukee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl isobutyl ketone, Xylene (mixed isomers), Toluene, Zinc (fume or dust) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,624 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 53218HNTZN6937W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Us Dod Usaf Gen Mitchell Ang Range, Milwaukee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,557 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5320WWSCNS1919E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Tulip Richardson Manufacturing, Milwaukee
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000418708 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9

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 Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee 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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