Fossil Fumes

The report finds that 238 US counties in 21 states face cancer risks exceeding the EPA's 1-in-a-million threshold due to oil and gas emissions, affecting over 9 million people. Key pollutants identified include benzene, formaldehyde, and ethylbenzene, with the highest risks concentrated in states with significant infrastructure like Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. The analysis highlights that NATA likely underestimates total health impacts by excluding particulate matter, ozone, and water contamination. To mitigate these risks, the report recommends implementing leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs, replacing high-emitting pneumatic equipment, and installing vapor recovery units on storage tanks.

• Based on 2017 projections, 238 counties across 21 US states have a cancer risk that exceeds the EPA's 1-in-a-million threshold, impacting a population of more than 9 million people.
• A subset of the high-risk areas faces significantly higher cancer risks: 43 counties exceed a risk of one in 250,000, and 2 counties exceed one in 100,000.

APA

Fleischman, L., Banks, J., & Graham, J. (2016). Fossil Fumes. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/21094448/CATF_Pub_FossilFumes.pdf

Chicago

Fleischman, Lesley, Jonathan Banks, and John Graham. Fossil Fumes. Clean Air Task Force, 2016. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/21094448/CATF_Pub_FossilFumes.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fleischman |first1=Lesley |last2=Banks |first2=Jonathan |last3=Graham |first3=John |title=Fossil Fumes |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=June 2016 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/21094448/CATF_Pub_FossilFumes.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fleischman2016fossil, author = {Fleischman, Lesley and Banks, Jonathan and Graham, John}, title = {{Fossil Fumes}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2016}, month = jun, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/21094448/CATF_Pub_FossilFumes.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }