⚠️ Study Links Oil & Gas Pollution to 90,000 Premature Deaths and 10,000 Preterm Births Annually in the U.S.

UNITED STATES – A groundbreaking new study has revealed the staggering human toll of oil and gas pollution, linking emissions from the extraction, transportation, refining, and use of fossil fuels to over 90,000 premature deaths and more than 10,000 preterm births every year in the U.S.

 

The study, published in Science Advances by researchers from University College London, George Washington University, University of Colorado Boulder, and the Stockholm Environment Institute, found that minority and vulnerable communities bear a disproportionate share of the health burden.

 

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Key Findings from the Study

• Premature Deaths: About 91,000 early deaths annually are attributed to oil and gas-related air pollution.

• Preterm Births: More than 10,350 premature births per year are tied to fossil fuel pollution exposure.

• Childhood Asthma: 216,000 new cases of childhood asthma each year are linked to nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants from oil and gas facilities.

• Cancer Cases: Around 1,610 lifetime cancers are traced to toxic emissions from fossil fuels.

Researchers identified fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) as the major culprits, with emissions occurring at every stage of the oil and gas lifecycle.

 

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Disproportionate Impacts on Minority Communities

The study highlights how environmental justice intersects with fossil fuel pollution:

• Black & Asian communities suffer most from refining, processing, and distribution emissions, especially in industrial hubs like southern Louisiana and eastern Texas.

• Indigenous & Hispanic populations are most affected by exploration, drilling, and transport-related pollution.

• “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana — an 85-mile corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans — remains one of the most toxic regions in America, with cancer-causing air pollution levels higher than 99% of the U.S.

Despite downstream activities like refining producing less overall pollution than extraction, they cause the most unequal health burdens, often concentrated in majority-Black neighborhoods.

 

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Historical Context

The link between fossil fuels and air pollution was first recognized in the 1950s, when smog covered cities like Los Angeles and New York. A 1954 Caltech study, ironically funded by the Western States Petroleum Association, confirmed that oil, gas, and coal emissions were altering CO2 levels and threatening civilization.

 

• The Clean Air Act (1963) and its 1970s amendments significantly reduced U.S. air pollution.

• However, recent rollbacks — including under President Trump, who weakened several air pollution rules and attempted to revoke EPA climate authority — have raised concerns of worsening public health crises.

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Tangent: “Cancer Alley” and the Human Cost of Refining

• The Mississippi River corridor in Louisiana, home to over 200 petrochemical facilities, is known as “Cancer Alley.”

• ProPublica estimates 256,000 Americans live in areas where cancer risks from air pollution exceed 1 in 10,000.

• The city of St. Gabriel, Louisiana, has higher toxic air pollution risks than 99% of the country.

• Eastern Texas shows similar patterns, with oil refining and chemical facilities driving high cancer risks and premature deaths.

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GlobalWorldCitizen.com Insight

This study underscores the true human cost of fossil fuels — far beyond climate change.

• Health Crisis: Oil and gas pollution is not only warming the planet — it is killing tens of thousands of Americans every year.

• Environmental Justice: Minority and low-income communities bear the heaviest burdens, raising urgent questions of equity.

• Policy Shift Needed: Without stricter regulations, clean energy transition, and public health protections, the U.S. risks deepening its fossil-fuel-driven health crisis.