Millions of Americans Live Near Fossil Fuel Infrastructure, Raising Public Health Concerns
A new study reveals that a notable portion of the U.S. population – over 40 million people – reside in close proximity to fossil fuel infrastructure, from extraction sites to end-use facilities. This groundbreaking research, enabled by a newly created national database, underscores the urgent need to understand and mitigate potential public health impacts associated with these facilities, notably within vulnerable communities.
For decades, the health consequences of living near oil and gas operations have been a growing concern. While individual studies have examined specific aspects of this issue, a thorough, nationwide assessment of proximity to all stages of the fossil fuel supply chain has been lacking – until now. This research,led by experts at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (SPH) and the Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS), fills that critical gap.
Mapping the Exposure Landscape
The study meticulously mapped the location of over 44,000 fossil fuel infrastructure components across the United States, categorizing them into four main types:
* extraction Sites: Including oil and gas wells, impacting over 20 million Americans.
* End-Use Facilities: Such as power plants, affecting nearly 21 million residents.
* Storage Locations: Encompassing peak shaving facilities, underground gas storage, and petroleum terminals, with over 6 million nearby residents.
* Refining & Transportation facilities: Impacting approximately 9 million people.
Importantly, the research found that roughly 9 million individuals are exposed to multiple infrastructure types, compounding potential risks.
“There is reason to beleive that air pollution could be emanating from each of these stages, whether through consistent emissions, gas leaks, or even catastrophic events like blowouts,” explains Mary Willis, senior author of the study and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at SPH. “All of these stages have the potential to impact a range of population health outcomes,and understanding who is living near these facilities is the crucial first step.”
Environmental Justice and Urban Concentration
The study’s findings reveal a disturbing pattern of environmental inequity.Communities predominantly comprised of non-white residents experience disproportionately higher exposure to fossil fuel infrastructure across all stages of the supply chain. This reinforces established research demonstrating the systemic environmental injustices faced by these communities.
Furthermore, the analysis highlights a strong urban concentration of exposure. Nearly 90% of individuals living near end-use, transportation, refining, and storage sites reside in cities, suggesting that urban populations bear a significant burden of potential health risks.
Interestingly, the study also revealed strategic differences in infrastructure placement. while extraction sites are numerous but often located in less populated areas, storage facilities – with an average of 2,900 residents within a one-mile radius – tend to be situated in densely populated urban centers. This suggests that targeted policy interventions focused on storage facilities could yield the greatest impact in reducing exposure for the largest number of people.
The EI3 Database: A Game Changer for Research
This research was made possible by the growth of the Energy Infrastructure Exposure Intensity and Equity Indices (EI3) Database for Public Health. Prior to EI3, data on fossil fuel infrastructure was fragmented, difficult to access, and often required payment or special permissions.
“Before, researchers were spending countless hours piecing together details from disparate sources,” explains Joel Buonocore, co-developer of the EI3 database. “We’ve consolidated this data into a single,publicly available national resource,hosted on Harvard Dataverse,dramatically accelerating the pace of research in this critical area.”
The creation of the EI3 database was supported by an IGS Sustainability Research Grant and led to the launch of the SPH Energy and Health Lab, co-directed by Buonocore and Willis.
Looking Ahead: Towards Informed Policy and Improved Public Health
The study’s authors emphasize that this research is just the beginning.While the EI3 database provides a crucial foundation for understanding exposure, further examination is needed to characterize the specific hazards associated with each infrastructure type and to assess their impact on public health.
“We’re really the first group thinking about this as an integrated system,” says Willis. “By quantifying all of these factors at once,we’re perhaps able to,down the line,directly compare the health effects of living near an extraction site versus a storage site.”
Future research will focus on detailed monitoring of air, water, noise, and light pollution near facilities, as well as leveraging new datasets - such as Medicaid records and information on pregnancy planners – to identify vulnerable populations and assess health outcomes.
The team hopes their work will inform policy decisions at the state and local levels, leading to more stringent regulations regarding the placement of fossil fuel infrastructure and ultimately protecting the health of communities across the nation. The availability of the EI3 database empowers researchers, policymakers, and advocates to address this critical public health challenge with
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