Air Quality

Learn about the air quality impacts of the oil and gas industry through FracTracker articles, maps, and imagery.

Air Quality

Oil and gas development negatively impacts air quality. Construction, drilling, storage, transportation, processing, and the burning of fossil fuels are all sources of serious air pollutants known to harm humans and the environment. The articles below reflect FracTracker’s work as it relates fracking and air pollution.

Tour Visible Air Emissions

Many air emissions are invisible to the naked eye, but there are situations when it is possible to see such cases of air pollution. View our digital tour of examples of visible air emissions.

Image Gallery

Every stage of oil and gas operations, from production and extraction to processing and distribution, releases air pollution. View our online gallery of images related to air quality.

Related Articles

Explore the links below to learn about fracking and air pollution through visualizations such as maps, digital atlases of critical watersheds, and aerial photography.

Right to a healthy home - Photo credit: Leann Leiter

The Right to a Healthy Home

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Reframing Fracking in Our Communities Imagine that tonight you…
Photo courtesy of Claycord.com

Tracking Refinery Emissions in California’s Bay Area Refinery Corridor

Air quality in the California Bay Area has been steadily improving…
Shell Ethane Cracker

A Formula for Disaster: Calculating Risk at the Ethane Cracker

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by Leann Leiter, Environmental Health Fellow map & analysis…
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