Millions in US at Risk from Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Health Hazards, Study Reveals

Study Reveals Widespread Health Risks from Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

• 🎯 46.6 million Americans, approximately 14.1% of the U.S. population, live within a mile of fossil fuel infrastructure.
• 💡 This proximity places a significant portion of the population at greater risk due to pollutants released during extraction, transportation, storage, and burning of fossil fuels.

Types of Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

• 🏭 The study categorized infrastructure into five segments: end use (e.g., power plants), extraction (e.g., oil and gas wells, coal mines), storage facilities, transportation (e.g., pipelines), and refineries/gas processing plants.
• 📉 Mapping these facilities revealed substantial disparities in exposure across the entire fossil fuel supply chain.

Health Impacts and Policy Implications

• ⚠️ Fossil fuel facilities are known to emit pollutants that negatively impact human health, though many impacts, especially from mid-stream infrastructure (storage and transportation), are not well characterized.
• ⏳ New infrastructure built today can lock in these health impacts for decades, affecting nearby communities for the lifetime of the facility.
• ⚖️ The findings suggest that current policies may not adequately account for the full spectrum of health hazards associated with fossil fuel infrastructure.

Case Study: Aliso Canyon

• 💥 The Aliso Canyon well blowout serves as a prominent example, leading to mass evacuations and significant methane emissions.
• 📈 Communities near the Aliso Canyon facility experienced health issues like nausea and vomiting, and a subsequent study showed an increased rate of low birth weight during the blowout event.
• 🔍 This incident highlights the potential for severe health consequences and the need for better understanding and characterization of risks from such facilities.