The greatest evidence of harm due to exposure to oil and gas wells is the effect the exposure could have on women whose newborn babies are at risk of being preterm with low birthweights and the possibility of birth defects.
The risk of adverse health outcomes increases the closer a well is to people’s homes, said Associate Professor Nicole Deziel (Environmental Health Sciences) during testimony before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee on May 3. The topic of the hearing was, “Who Pays the Price: The Real Cost of Fossil Fuels.”
Deziel cited her research and the research of others, which has found evidence that the health impacts of living near an oil or gas well include increased adverse pregnancy outcomes, childhood cancers, hospitalizations, asthma exacerbations, mental health issues, and mortality among the elderly.
These health ramifications have not been adequately addressed by current governmental policies, Deziel added. She based her testimony on evidence of the relationship between oil and gas development and human health risks from approximately 50 peer-reviewed epidemiologic studies, including 25 studies that she has published about the exposures, health, and environmental justice impacts of oil and gas development.
Impact on the Environment
A growing number of environmental monitoring studies have concluded that oil and gas development contribute to air pollution, noise, odors, water contamination, radioactive releases, seismic activity, and increased vehicular traffic. What’s more, exposures and health risks are not distributed equally across communities, with disproportionate impacts for some disadvantaged populations, Deziel testified.
Studies in Texas and Ohio demonstrated that oil and gas wastewater disposal wells were more likely to be sited in communities of color or areas of lower income, she said. “In Texas, Hispanic populations were more likely to be exposed to flaring, a practice of burning excess gas yielding light at night, noise, and noxious odors. We found that communities with high proportions of lower-income and elderly populations in rural areas were the most vulnerable to groundwater pollution from hydraulic fracturing in the Appalachian Basin. Finally, a recent California study found that Black, Hispanic, and socioeconomically marginalized people had disproportionately higher exposure to oil and gas wells.”
A Lack of Oversight
Unfortunately, the limited availability of monitoring data, particularly in rural areas where substantial drilling occurs, hinders the ability to fully understand hazards and risks, Deziel said.
She also questioned a common policy protection for communities located near oil and gas wells. Known as setbacks, they are the allowable distance between an oil and gas well and a home or school. The use of setbacks is based on the premise that the hazards emitted by oil and gas operations diminish with distance.
“While setbacks offer critical public health protections to nearby communities, many states have not updated them to reflect the current science, and it is challenging to establish a universal distance that protects against all hazards because hazards decrease at different rates,” Deziel said. She also pointed out that setbacks do not prevent the release of methane or other greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.