Bowing
Source: GeoHealth
Between December 2019 and May 2022, the United States saw 82 million reported cases of COVID-19 and approximately 1 million deaths linked to the disease. Some communities, such as those that are economically disadvantaged or have a high proportion of racial or ethnic minority groups, were hit especially hard.
Neighborhoods where residents have historically experienced racial discrimination in housing policy are also more likely to be located near active oil and gas wells; in 2017, 17.6 million U.S. residents lived within 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of such wells.
Previous studies have shown that those living near oil or gas wells—which can cause air, water, soil, noise, and light pollution—have higher risks of conditions such as asthma, cancer, immunodeficiencies, and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Others have found that air pollution increased COVID-19 risks. But a new study by Archer et al. is the first, to the authors’ knowledge, to study whether proximity specifically to oil and gas development could also be linked to higher rates of COVID-19.
The researchers studied COVID-19 case and death rates during the first year of the pandemic (February 2020 to January 2021), focusing on California communities located within 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) of active oil and gas wells.
In addition to COVID-19 case records, the researchers gathered census data; area-level demographic and economic data; and information about the wells, such as how much oil and gas they produced.
In communities within 0.6 mile (1 kilometer) of an actively producing well, COVID-19 cases were 34% higher and mortality rates were 55% higher in the first 4 months of the pandemic. Though the results did not show a significant association between well production and COVID-19 cases over the entire year, mortality rates were higher in the areas with the highest production. The authors add that more research may help to understand why different communities had different rates and severity levels of COVID-19. (GeoHealth, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GH001070, 2024)
—Sarah Derouin (@sarahderouin.bsky.social), Science Writer
