TL/DR –

As the climate crisis heats up, so do the threats on oil and gas facilities in the US, with California’s wells already in wildfire danger zones. If you’re in Los Angeles or Kern, beware: past fires have resulted in blowouts and gas leaks, and areas predicted to burn are growing faster than my to-do list. But this is more than just a hot mess – it’s a potential public health crisis, with BIPOC communities facing disproportionate exposure. So here’s hoping this serves as a wake-up call to review oil and gas policies, or we might just find ourselves in a real-life disaster movie.

Burn Zones and Drill Sites: A Hidden Threat?

According to a study by UC Berkeley researchers, it’s the first to examine the overlap between wildfire threats and oil and gas facilities in the U.S. Although the public health impact of burnt drill sites remains uncertain, the findings may help shape future drilling policy.

David J.X. González, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at UC Berkeley, highlighted that most of California’s oil wells are in wildfire-prone areas – a concern for residents in these regions. He noted the potential for new environmental justice issues stemming from this issue.

Hotspots: Los Angeles and Kern Counties

Los Angeles and Kern counties, both bustling hubs of oil and gas extraction, are under high wildfire risk. History shows fires unrelated to wildfires have ignited blowouts and gas storage tank leaks, causing explosions. Near Bakersfield, numerous wells have been detected leaking natural gas at explosive levels.

Since 1984, around 350,000 western U.S. residents have lived within 1 km of a well in a burn zone. Disproportionately high exposure to these wells has been faced by Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Native American communities.

The Rising Tide of Wells in Fire-Prone Areas

Today, nearly 3 million people live within 1 km of a well at increased future wildfire risk. Moreover, the number of wells in high-risk wildfire areas is expected to nearly double by century’s end. This suggests that more wells are being drilled in areas likely to burn.

“This is a problem that hasn’t really been looked at in the past but has been worsening and will likely continue to worsen. It’s concerning, particularly for people living near leaking wells,” González commented. He stressed the need to explore further the potentially significant health effects of the co-occurrence of fire and drilling.

Original Story at jpt.spe.org