Studie bringt Umweltverschmutzung durch die Öl- und Gasindustrie in Alberta mit negativen Gesundheitsfolgen in Verbindung | Soziodemografische und bevölkerungsbezogene Exposition gegenüber vorgelagerten Öl- und Gasbetrieben in Kanada

From the news report:

>A new peer-reviewed study on the health impacts of pollution from Alberta’s oil and gas sector has found the odds of having negative respiratory and cardiovascular health outcomes increase by nine to 21 per cent, depending on the number of oil and gas wells a person lives near.
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>Although there are known effects on health from air pollution, the lead author of the study said there’s been a lack of research in Canada compared to that in the U.S. on impacts from the oil and gas industry.
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>The study also estimated where pollutants were concentrated and the demographics of people who lived near oil and gas wells.
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>Those living in rural areas and Indigenous people were more likely to be exposed to activity from the industry.
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>The isolation of some of these communities may be a reason for the lack of research, said Dr. Joe Vipond, past president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment advocacy group.
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>”If the oilsands and its tailing ponds existed within the city limits of Calgary, you’d be damn sure that we’d have studies looking at what the health impacts of that are.”
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>Stricter regulation on processes like flaring and venting that release pollutants could help reduce emissions and protect those most vulnerable, Lavoie said. Flaring is the burning off of excess natural gas associated with oil production, while venting is the controlled release of unburned gases into the atmosphere.

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Journal link: [Sociodemographic and Population Exposure to Upstream Oil and Gas Operations in Canada](https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/12/1692)

Abstract:

>Canada, as one of the largest oil and gas producer in the world, is responsible for large emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. At low levels, methane is not a direct threat to human health; however, human health is affected by exposure to pollutants co-emitted with methane. The objectives of this research were to estimate and map pollutants emitted by the oil and gas industry, to assess the demographic of the population exposed to oil and gas activities, and to characterize the impact of well density on cardiovascular- and respiratory-related outcomes with a focus on Alberta. We estimated that ~13% and 3% people in Alberta reside, respectively, within 1.5 km of an active well and 1.5 km of a flare. Our analysis suggests that racial and socioeconomic disparities exist in residential proximity to active wells, with people of Aboriginal identity and people with less education being more exposed to active wells than the general population. We found increased odds of cardiovascular-related (1.13–1.29 for low active well density) and respiratory-related (1.07–1.19 for low active well density) outcomes with exposure to wells. Close to 100 countries produce oil and gas, making this a global issue. There is an important need for additional studies from other producing jurisdictions outside the United States.