Overview

• Researchers attribute 10,350 preterm births, 216,000 new childhood asthma cases, and 1,610 lifetime cancers annually to sector-related outdoor air pollution.
• End-use combustion accounts for about 96% of incidents linked to the oil and gas lifecycle, far outweighing upstream, midstream, and downstream stages.
• The study identifies stark disparities, with Native American and Hispanic populations most affected by upstream and midstream stages, and Black and Asian populations most burdened by downstream and end-use pollution, including in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley and eastern Texas.
• Total health burdens are highest in California, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, with the greatest per-capita impacts in New Jersey, Washington, D.C., New York, California, and Maryland.
• Estimates are based on 2017 data and likely conservative given a roughly 40% rise in U.S. oil and gas production by 2023, and the analysis also links 1,170 early deaths in southern Canada and 440 in northern Mexico to U.S. pollution.