A new study says more than 100-thousand people in Indiana live close enough to oil and gas operations that their health is at risk. The study is based on information in the Oil and Gas Threat Map, which details areas where people live within a half-mile “threat zone” from oil and gas development. The map also lists counties with cancer and respiratory health risks that are above standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. It also lists counties with cancer and respiratory health risks that are above standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Paul Billings with the American Lung Association says these residents have cause for concern.
In Indiana, the report says there are nearly 74-hundred active oil and gas wells, compressors and processors, with 55 schools and four hospitals within the threat radius of these operations. The report says about 19-thousand asthma attacks every year in Indiana are linked to oil and gas production, and there are nearly 14-thousand lost school days because of it.
Shannon Heyck-Williams from the National Wildlife Federation says dirty air threatens not only humans, but also Indiana’s wildlife population and outdoor recreation.
Heyck-Williams says in general, oil and gas production is hard on wildlife.