Fumes Across the Fence-Line

The report quantifies the health risks faced by millions of African Americans living near oil and gas infrastructure, highlighting elevated cancer risks and asthma attacks. It details the role of systemic oppression in siting polluting facilities in communities of color and calls for stricter EPA regulations and a transition to a clean energy economy.

• Over 1 million African Americans live within a half-mile radius of active oil and gas facilities, including wells, compressors, and processing plants.
• More than 1 million African Americans reside in counties where the cancer risk from toxic emissions from natural gas facilities exceeds the U.S. EPA's level of concern.
• Ozone smog resulting from natural gas emissions is associated with approximately 138,000 asthma attacks and 101,000 lost school days for African American children annually.
• Approximately 6.7 million African Americans live in the 91 U.S. counties that contain oil refineries.
• The report argues that the siting of polluting facilities in African American communities is a result of systemic oppression and environmental racism, as companies often target areas with low political power to reduce permit transaction costs.
• Air pollution from oil and gas facilities can impact communities far downwind from the source; for example, emissions from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio have contributed to elevated ethane levels and smog in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. corridor.
• The report identifies specific toxic pollutants from the industry, including benzene (linked to cancer and blood disorders), ethylbenzene (respiratory and neurological disorders), hydrogen sulfide (respiratory irritation), and formaldehyde (cancer and respiratory symptoms).
• The authors state that at least 75 percent of existing oil and gas wells and infrastructure remain virtually unregulated, and they urge the EPA to implement comprehensive standards for all facilities rather than just new or modified ones.

APA

Fleischman, L., & Franklin, M. (2017). Fumes Across the Fence-Line. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/21092330/catf-rpt-naacp-4.21.pdf

Chicago

Fleischman, Lesley, and Marcus Franklin. Fumes Across the Fence-Line. Clean Air Task Force, 2017. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/21092330/catf-rpt-naacp-4.21.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fleischman |first1=Lesley |last2=Franklin |first2=Marcus |title=Fumes Across the Fence-Line |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=November 2017 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/21092330/catf-rpt-naacp-4.21.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fleischman2017fumes, author = {Fleischman, Lesley and Franklin, Marcus}, title = {{Fumes Across the Fence-Line}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2017}, month = nov, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/21092330/catf-rpt-naacp-4.21.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }