Methane is just one harmful air pollutant from the oil and gas industry.

Clean Air Task Force’s newly updated report, Fossil Fumes 2022 Update: A public health analysis of toxic air pollution from the oil and gas industry sheds light on the health impacts of pollutants that are often emitted from oil and gas sites alongside methane, including benzene, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde.

Fossil Fumes report estimates cancer risk to residents of every county in the United States that can be traced back to air toxics from the oil and gas industry. It is based on EPA’s most recent Air Toxics Screening Assessment (AirToxScreen) analysis updated to reflect the latest emissions data from EPA’s National Emissions Inventory.

 

The Findings

• 236 counties in 21 states face cancer risk exceeding EPA’s one-in-a-million threshold level of concern, just due to oil and gas pollution;
• These counties have a population of nearly 14 million people;
• In 33 counties, the cancer risk due to oil and gas pollution exceeds one in 250,000 and in 3 counties the risk that exceeds one in 100,000;
• The areas with the greatest health risk are generally located in states with the greatest amount of oil and gas infrastructure including New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Louisiana, West Virginia, and North Dakota.

Hazardous Oil and Gas Air Pollutants

Hazardous Air Pollutant	Tons Emitted Per Year from Oil and Gas Industry	Health Impacts
Formaldehyde	37,826	Cancer and respiratory symptoms
Benzene	28,021	Cancer, anemia, brain damage and birth defects, and respiratory tract irritation
Acetaldehyde	5,491	Cancer and respiratory irritant
Ethyl Benzene	2,200	Respiratory and eye irritation, and blood and neurological disorders
1-3 Butadiene	650	Increases risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases

An Underestimate

Fossil Fumes, based on the AirToxScreen assessment, only considers the cancer risk related to toxic air pollution from the oil and gas industry. The report does not account for:

• other health impacts, such as respiratory risk, from hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) emitted from the oil and gas industry.
• health impacts from criteria pollutants, like particulate matter (e.g. soot) and ozone-related (e.g. smog) air emissions
• health impacts of soil and water contamination caused by oil and gas development
• health impacts from secondary pollutants that form as a result of the chemical reactions of direct oil and gas pollutants that occur in the atmosphere, and
• health impacts from increased truck traffic and changes in land use as a result of oil and gas development.

Therefore, AirToxScreen and Fossil Fumes underestimate the full health impact of air pollution from oil and gas operations. For the full report, visit the Clean Air Task Force website.