Air pollution from oil and gas activities causes an estimated 91,000 deaths and over 10,000 preterm births in the United States each year. Fossil fuel air pollutants contribute about 216,000 childhood asthma cases annually and more than 1,600 lifetime cancers. California, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey carry the highest total health burdens. Racial minorities face disproportionate exposure to fine particulate matter, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide across extraction, refining, and fuel combustion stages. Data from 2017 likely understate current impacts because production rose roughly 40% from 2017 to 2023 while consumption increased about 8%.
Air pollution from oil and gas activities is responsible for an estimated 91,000 deaths and over 10,000 preterm births in the US each year, according to a new study that examined the impacts of the industry through its lifecycle from extraction to refining to burning fuel in power plants. The study, published August 22 in the journal Science Advances, also attributes an estimated 216,000 annual incidences of US childhood asthma to air pollutants from fossil fuels, as well as over 1,600 lifetime cancers.
California, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have the highest total health burden from all stages of oil and gas production and use, according to the study, with racial minorities facing disproportionate exposure to harmful air pollutants that include fine particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen dioxide. The findings, based on data from 2017, likely underestimate the health toll of the US oil and gas lifecycle, the authors said, given annual production increased by 40% from 2017 to 2023 and consumption increased by about 8%.
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