2024-06-25 カリフォルニア大学バークレー校(UCB)
＜関連情報＞
- https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/06/25/wildfires-increasingly-threaten-oil-and-gas-drill-sites-compounding-potential-health-risks-study-says/
- https://www.cell.com/one-earth/abstract/S2590-3322(24)00256-2
米国西部で油田・ガス田を脅かす山火事が増加し、社会から疎外された人々に不釣り合いな影響を及ぼしている Wildfires increasingly threaten oil and gas wells in the western United States with disproportionate impacts on marginalized populations
David J.X. González,Rachel Morello-Frosch,Zehua Liu,…,Jiali Wang,Nicole C. Deziel,Joan A. Casey
One Earth Published:June 21, 2024
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2024.05.013
Highlights
- From 1984 to 2019, we identified 102,882 oil and gas wells sited in wildfire burn areas
- 5-Fold increase in wells in wildfire burn areas, doubling of nearby population
- Currently 2.9 million people reside within 1 km of wildfire-threatened wells
- Disproportionate exposure among Black, Hispanic, and Native American people
Summary
The western United States is home to most of the nation’s oil and gas production and, increasingly, wildfires. We examined historical threats of wildfires for oil and gas wells, the extent to which wildfires are projected to threaten wells as climate change progresses, and exposure of human populations to these wells. From 1984 to 2019, we found that, cumulatively, 102,882 wells were located in wildfire burn areas, and 348,853 people were exposed (resided within ≤ 1 km). During this period, we observed a 5-fold increase in the number of wells in wildfire burn areas and a doubling of the population within 1 km of these wells. These trends are projected to increase by late century, likely threatening human health. Approximately 2.9 million people reside within 1 km of wells in areas with high wildfire risk, and Black, Hispanic, and Native American people have disproportionately high exposure to wildfire-threatened wells.
Graphical abstract
