US Oil and Gas Air Pollution Drives Severe Health Impacts with Stark Racial Disparities
A groundbreaking study led by researchers at University College London (UCL) and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) has unveiled the extensive health consequences caused by air pollution from the US oil and gas sector. This peer-reviewed research, soon to be published in Science Advances, represents the most comprehensive assessment to date of air pollution’s harmful effects across the entire oil and gas lifecycle—from extraction to consumer end-use. Crucially, it reveals alarming racial and ethnic disparities, with Black, Asian, Native American, and Hispanic communities disproportionately bearing the brunt of pollution-induced illnesses and premature deaths.
Using advanced computational modeling techniques, the research team meticulously mapped the spatial distribution and chemical transformation of pollutants emitted at every major stage of the oil and gas supply chain. This allowed them to isolate and quantify pollution uniquely attributable to upstream activities like drilling and extraction, midstream stages such as transportation and storage, downstream refinery operations, and finally the combustion of fossil fuels in power plants and vehicles. These detailed pollution inventories were then integrated with epidemiological data linking specific pollutants to adverse health outcomes, providing robust estimates of disease incidence and premature mortality nationwide.
Their findings are striking: annually, approximately 91,000 premature deaths in the United States can be directly linked to air pollution generated by oil and gas activities. Moreover, the study attributes over 10,000 cases of preterm birth and 216,000 new childhood asthma diagnoses each year to this pollution source, alongside 1,610 lifetime cancers. Such figures underscore the profound toll air pollution exacts on public health, rivaling or exceeding many other well-known environmental risk factors.
A particularly concerning revelation is the outsized contribution of the fossil fuel combustion phase — the “end-use” stage — which accounts for 96% of these health burdens. Despite the lower emissions from midstream and downstream operations relative to the entire lifecycle, the burning of oil and gas products for transportation and power generation is overwhelmingly responsible for the adverse health outcomes quantified in the study. This finding highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions at the consumer end of the oil and gas economy, alongside upstream emissions controls.
The analysis also identifies geographic hotspots of health impacts correlated with population density and regional industrial activity. California, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey emerge as the states with the highest total health burdens attributable to oil and gas air pollution. When adjusting for population, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, New York, California, and Maryland show the highest per capita exposure and health impacts, signaling critical areas for environmental justice initiatives.
Beyond aggregate health metrics, the research compellingly documents stark disparities linked to historical and contemporary socio-economic factors. Black and Asian communities bear the greatest health burden from downstream and end-use pollution, particularly in heavily industrialized regions such as Southern Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” and eastern Texas. Conversely, Native American and Hispanic populations suffer more from upstream and midstream emissions exposure. These disparities are not incidental but trace back to systemic practices like discriminatory zoning and redlining, which have historically confined marginalized groups to living near pollution hotspots such as industrial facilities and major transportation corridors.
The researchers employed a state-of-the-art atmospheric chemistry model capable of simulating complex pollutant transformations under diverse meteorological conditions. This enabled them to chemically distinguish emissions from oil and gas sources from other pollutants in the air, rendering their attribution of health effects highly accurate. Integrating these air quality simulations with census data allowed the team to paint a detailed picture of how pollution’s health impacts intersect with race, ethnicity, and geography across the US.
In addition to domestic consequences, the study highlights transboundary pollution effects, attributing 1,170 early deaths in southern Canada and 440 in northern Mexico to US oil and gas air pollution. This emphasizes the far-reaching nature of fossil fuel emissions and the geopolitical significance of cooperative air quality management in North America.
The study’s authors emphasize the pressing policy implications of their findings. “Our data provides powerful evidence that accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels could save hundreds of thousands of lives in the US every year. This is both an environmental and an equity imperative,” said Dr. Ploy Achakulwisut of SEI. The near-term benefits of reducing oil and gas pollution extend beyond mitigating climate change, offering immediate relief to vulnerable communities that have long suffered disproportionate health burdens.
Lead author Dr. Karn Vohra, now at the University of Birmingham, underscores the innovation behind the research: “By parsing pollution contributions from each oil and gas lifecycle stage, we’ve illuminated where the health impacts are most severe and unequally distributed. This comprehensive approach sets a new standard for environmental health research and policymaking.”
While the study’s estimates are conservative, relying on 2017 emissions data, recent trends indicate a 40% increase in US oil and gas production and an 8% rise in consumption by 2023. Consequently, the true scale of health consequences today is likely even greater. The authors also note that their focus on outdoor air pollution means indoor exposures—another significant health risk—are unaccounted for, potentially underestimating the full burden.
This research represents a vital contribution to understanding the human costs of continued fossil fuel dependence in the United States. It rigorously quantifies how air pollution stemming from oil and gas extraction, processing, and combustion drives widespread and unevenly distributed health harms, laying bare the urgent need for systemic changes in energy and environmental policy. By integrating computational air quality modeling with epidemiology and social data, it opens new avenues for informed decision-making aimed at protecting public health and advancing environmental justice.
Subject of Research: People
Article Title: The health burden and racial-ethnic disparities of air pollution from the major oil and gas lifecycle stages in the United States
News Publication Date: 22-Aug-2025
Web References:
https://bit.ly/US_oilgas_healthburden_dashboard
References:
Karn Vohra, Eloise A. Marais, Ploy Achakulwisut, Susan Anenberg, and Colin Harkins, “The health burden and racial-ethnic disparities of air pollution from the major oil and gas lifecycle stages in the United States,” Science Advances, published 22 August 2025.
Keywords:
Air pollution, Air quality, Human geography, Environmental economics
