facts should concern all Americans , not just those living in environmental justice communities bearing the burden of industrial and fossil fuel pollution in their neighborhoods .
These preliminary findings shouldn ’ t be surprising . As the COVID-19 public health crisis continues to unfold across the United States and around the world , the association of air pollution and poor clinical outcomes from novel coronavirus infections is becoming increasingly apparent .
Gas and Oil Operations Are a Major Source of Air Pollution
Communities in proximity to oil and gas operations — extractive processes with significant downstream impacts — may also be at increased risk for health impacts from air pollution and COVID-19 .
The boom in oil and gas extraction resulting from innovations in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies has brought the industrial activities associated with this extraction closer to more people than ever before . 16 Nationwide , more than 17 million people live within one mile of at least one oil or gas well . 17 Encroachment of oil and gas extraction sites into residential communities leaves a large and lasting source of air pollution .
Every stage of oil and gas extraction activities has been associated with the emission of air pollutants . Air pollutants are emitted from extracted oil and gas , produced water , drill cuttings , drilling muds , hydraulic fracturing fluids , and flares , as well as from the diesel engines used to power trucks , drill rigs , and hydraulic fracturing equipment . These air pollutants include fine particulate matter and hazardous air pollutants ,
18 , 19 as well as nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds .
Nitrogen oxides combine with volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight and heat to form ground-level ozone , a potent air pollutant that stunts the growth of children ’ s lungs , damages lung tissue , and reduces every person ’ s lung function , making it harder for adults with COPD and children with asthma to breathe . 20
As the COVID-19 public health crisis continues to unfold across the United States and around the world , the association of air pollution and poor clinical outcomes from novel coronavirus infections is becoming increasingly apparent .
Oil and gas operations are a major contributor to regional ozone pollution in Colorado . 21 Human health risk assessments in Colorado indicate increased risks of respiratory effects for people living nearest to oil and gas extraction sites . 22 , 23 , 24 EPA scientists estimate that fine particulate matter and ozone-related premature deaths attributable to oil and gas extraction activities will reach 1,970 per year in the United States , with the population in Colorado ’ s Denver Julesburg Basin and New Mexico ’ s Permian Basin experiencing some of the highest rates . Additionally , nitrogen oxide , volatile organic compounds , fine particulate matter , and hazardous air pollutants emissions are especially abundant at compressor stations , which keep oil and gas flowing through long-distance pipelines . 26
We now know that oil and gas extraction activities ( fracking ) contaminate the air we all depend on and may make people sick . The impacts of fracking on human health are well-documented in the “ Compendium of Scientific , Medical , and Media Findings Demonstrating the Risks and Harms of Fracking ( Unconventional Gas and Oil Extraction ),” published in 2019 by Physicians for Social Responsibility and Concerned Health Professionals of New York . ( New York State has successfully banned fracking .) That report , which summarizes more than 1,700 peer-reviewed studies and investigative reports , found “ no evidence that fracking can operate without threatening public health .” 27
6 | PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY