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Monroe County, Wisconsin: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Monroe County is 171.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 264 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (89), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (87), Gas station (mapped facility) (32). 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: 43.9472, -90.6118.

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 Monroe County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.7	3.4	1.68x	3.2 to 9.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	22.4	14.5	1.54xSignificant	16.9 to 29	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.9	6.6	1.35x	5.8 to 13.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	40	30.2	1.32xSignificant	33.3 to 47.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7.3	5.7	1.28x	4.5 to 11.4	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30.3	23.8	1.27xSignificant	24 to 37.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.8	6.2	1.26x	4.8 to 12	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	8.3	6.6	1.26x	5.1 to 12.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	63.5	51.8	1.23xSignificant	55 to 73	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	171.3	143.2	1.2xSignificant	156.6 to 187.1	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.1	4.4	1.16x	3 to 8.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.7	17.9	1.16x	15.5 to 27.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.6	11.3	1.12x	8.8 to 17.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.1	4.8	1.06x	2.9 to 8.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	480	453.4	1.06xSignificant	454.5 to 506.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.6	18.7	1.05x	14.8 to 25.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.2	8.7	0.94x	5.2 to 12.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.4	13	0.88x	7.3 to 16.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.1	18.5	0.87x	11.8 to 21.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.9	13.9	0.86x	8.3 to 16.7	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 Monroe County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,458.3	9,842.6	-24%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.9	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	57.6	59.8	-4%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.2	6.2	-0%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	88.2	96.9	-9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	22.3	28.6	-22%	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.

Formaldehyde14.17 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.39 per million
Naphthalene0.98 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 305 days: 206 good, 9 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 165.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing89
NPDES wastewater discharge permit87
Gas station (mapped facility)32
Air permit holder (minor source)11
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)9
TRI reporting facility8
Small hazardous waste generator6
Large hazardous waste generator4
Public airport3
Major air pollution source2
Brownfield property2
Hazardous waste transporter2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Oil-fired power plant1
Solar power plant1
Wind power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1
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.

Tomah Municipal Sanitary Landfill, Tomah
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 45.9. NPL Site.
EPA site ID WID980610307 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Us Army Fort Mccoy, Fort Mccoy
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $10,340.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002034771 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
U.S. Army Fort Mccoy Range Facility, Fort Mccoy
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead And Lead Compounds, Phosphorus (yellow or white). 278,155 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54656FRCFMBLDG2 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Us Army Fort Mccoy, Fort Mccoy
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $10,340.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002034771 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Necal Llc, Sparta
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene. 23,220 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54656NRTHR1326S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
, Tomah
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 550812001 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 6
Sanitation Plant, Sparta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005490762 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Necal Acquisition Llc, Sparta
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000422659 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Hartland Lubricants & Chemicals-Sparta, Sparta
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, Ethylene glycol. 1,292 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5465WHRTLN2455C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Hartland Lubricants & Chemicals - Sparta, Sparta
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063691036 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Toro Company, Tomah
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $22,944.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000422668 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Us Army Fort Mccoy, Fort Mccoy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,340.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002034771 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Tomah Wastewater Treatment Facility, Tomah
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039961556 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Northern Engraving Corp - Sparta, Sparta
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000850963 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Us Army Fort Mccoy, Fort Mccoy
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $10,340.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002034771 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mlsna East Town Dairy Llc, Jefferson, Town Of
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041249814 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wyeville Sewer System, Wyeville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070016488 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Northern Engraving Corp, Sparta
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 54656NRTHR803SO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Cardinal Glass, Tomah
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 5466WCRDNL162TW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Transcontinental Us Llc, Tomah
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates. 48 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54660NNCMP501WI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.3
Cashton, Cashton
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 4107 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Actus Nutrition - Sparta, Sparta
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000422640 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Toro Company, Tomah
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $22,944.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000422668 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Mars Petcare Us Inc, Tomah
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002038768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Oakdale Wastewater Treatment Fac, Oakdale
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010892463 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4

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 Monroe 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 Monroe 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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