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Rusk County, Wisconsin: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Rusk County is 152.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 200 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (127), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (34), Gas station (mapped facility) (9). 2 correctional facilities operate in the county. 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: 45.4689, -91.1093.

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 Rusk County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39.1	30.2	1.29x	28.9 to 52.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	17.5	13.9	1.26x	10 to 29.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14.2	11.3	1.26x	7.9 to 24.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	22.1	18.5	1.19x	13.3 to 35.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	152.5	143.2	1.06x	130.5 to 178	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	52.6	51.8	1.02x	41.3 to 67.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	432.3	453.4	0.95x	392.5 to 475.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14.6	17.9	0.82x	8.1 to 25.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.7	18.7	0.79x	8.7 to 24.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.4	23.8	0.77x	10 to 31.4	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 Rusk County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,153.5	9,842.6	-7%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.3	75.3	+1%	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	120.3	96.9	+24%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	23.6	28.6	-17%	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.

Formaldehyde11.44 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.15 per million
Benzene0.81 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing127
NPDES wastewater discharge permit34
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Major air pollution source4
Hydroelectric plant4
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Biomass power plant1
Solar power plant1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Dunn Paper - Ladysmith Llc, Ladysmith
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000422908 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.2
Dunn Paper - Ladysmith Llc, Ladysmith
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000422908 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Dunn Paper - Ladysmith, Ladysmith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Certain glycol ethers. 6,388 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 54848PPTLBEWORD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Dunn Paper - Ladysmith Llc, Ladysmith
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000422908 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Dunn Paper - Ladysmith Llc, Ladysmith
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000422908 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
North Star Acres/Jeff Potter, Murry
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071068495 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Conrath Village Of, Conrath
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010886372 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ladysmith City Of, Ladysmith
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010889324 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tony Waterworks, Tony
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028112646 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Wmwi - Timberline Trail Recycling & Disposal, Weyerhaeuser
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015632680 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Weather Shield Windows And Doors - Ladysmith Division, Ladysmith
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000594303 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Bruce Village Of, Bruce
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005445875 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Glen Flora Village Of, Glen Flora
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010886880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Indeck Ladysmith Llc, Ladysmith
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040513833 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Sheldon Creamery, Sheldon
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981885 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Weather Shield Windows And Doors - Ladysmith Division, Ladysmith
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000594303 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Rockwell Automation, Ladysmith
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates.
TRI facility ID 54848RCKWL156E1 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Flambeau Correctional Center, Hawkins
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006463870 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Sheldon Village Of, Sheldon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010888245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Wmwi - Timberline Trail Recycling & Disposal, Weyerhaeuser
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015632680 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Timberline Trail Gas Recovery, Weyerhaeser
Biomass power plant.
Record ID 56525 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 2.5
Flambeau Correctional Center, Hawkins
Correctional facility (prison or jail).
EPA FRS registry ID 110006463870 (U.S. EPA ECHO + SDWIS) Agency record
Severity 2
Rusk County, Ladysmith
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID RCX (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Rusk County Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/786081517 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/786081518 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Flambeau Correctional Center, Hawkins
EPA FRS registry ID
110006463870
Wastewater permit
Yes, 6 quarters in noncompliance
EPA detailed facility report
Flambeau Correctional Ctr, Hawkins
EPA FRS registry ID
110070639405
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Rusk 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 Rusk 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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