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Polk County, Wisconsin: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Polk County is 156.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 1.9 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 168 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (70), Gas station (mapped facility) (29), Rail grade crossing (16). 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: 45.4692, -92.4202.

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 Polk County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	6.4	3.4	1.88xSignificant	4.1 to 9.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	5.1	3.7	1.38x	2.8 to 8.6	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6	4.6	1.3x	3.8 to 9.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38.4	30.2	1.27xSignificant	32.4 to 45.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	13.7	11.3	1.21x	10.1 to 18.4	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.3	6.2	1.18x	4.4 to 11.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.7	5.7	1.18x	4.2 to 10.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	59.7	51.8	1.15xSignificant	52.1 to 68.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.5	4.8	1.15x	3.4 to 8.9	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	26.1	23.8	1.1x	20.4 to 33	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	156.8	143.2	1.09xSignificant	143.9 to 170.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.2	18.5	1.09x	15.7 to 25.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.1	13.9	1.09x	11.3 to 20.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.1	14.5	1.04x	11 to 20.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.3	17.9	0.97x	13 to 22.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	435	453.4	0.96x	412.3 to 458.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.5	18.7	0.94x	13.5 to 22.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.1	6.6	0.92x	4 to 9.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.7	8.7	0.89x	5.1 to 11.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.3	13	0.79x	6.3 to 15.8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	4.9	6.6	0.74x	2.7 to 8.4	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 Polk County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,642.1	9,842.6	-22%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.8	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	55.9	59.8	-7%	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	90	96.9	-7%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	11.1	28.6	-61%	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.

Formaldehyde13.67 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.33 per million
Benzene1.14 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit70
Gas station (mapped facility)29
Rail grade crossing16
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)6
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Air permit holder (minor source)4
Public airport4
Brownfield property4
Small hazardous waste generator4
TRI reporting facility4
Major air pollution source2
Airfield2
Commercial airport2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Biomass power plant1
Hydroelectric plant1
Oil-fired power plant1
Solar power plant1
Scrapyard (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.

Foremost Farms Usa, Clayton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000420697 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.8
Foremost Farms Usa, Clayton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid. 54,540 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54004WSCNSMAINA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Advanced Food Products Llc, Clear Lake
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000420704 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Crm - Dresser, Osceola
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 5402WCRMDR2414S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Wisconsin Whey Protein, Turtle Lake
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070004892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.2
Frederic Diesel, Frederic
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 4020 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Crm - Dresser, Osceola
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061750458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Amery City Of, Amery
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010889823 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Viresco Turtle Lake, Turtle Lake
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046462671 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Wisconsin Whey Protein, Turtle Lake
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 6 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 5488WWSCNS461WE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.6
Advanced Food Products Llc, Clear Lake
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000420704 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Polaris Industries Inc, Osceola
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000420768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
St Croix Falls City Of, St Croix Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010889645 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Vgt Compressor Station 2222, Osceola
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043802917 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Foremost Farms Usa, Clayton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000420697 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Wi Dnr Osceola Fish Hatchery, Osceola
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010848191 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Viresco Turtle Lake, Turtle Lake
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110046462671 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Nobles Mfg Inc, Saint Croix Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium.
TRI facility ID 5402WNBLSM115EP (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Round Lake Property 25, Luck
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039138830 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Round Lake Property #16, Luck
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040722304 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Round Lake Dump Property #18, Luck
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043084934 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Frederic Lot, Frederic
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986013 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
F&M Plastics, Inc., Osceola
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070292966 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Advanced Food Products Llc, Clear Lake
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid.
TRI facility ID 54005LNDLK600FI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Viresco Turtle Lake, Turtle Lake
Biomass power plant.
Record ID 58747 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 2.5

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 Polk 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 Polk 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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