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.

Los Angeles, California skyline

California Oil & Gas Setbacks Recommendations Memo

The purpose of this memo is to recommend guidelines to CalGEM for evaluating the economic value of the social benefits and costs to people and the environment in requiring a 2,500 foot setback for oil and gas drilling (OGD) activities.

Undermined: Voices from the Frontlines of Frac Sand Mining

FracTracker and Public Lab, with support from Save the Hills Alliance, produced "Undermined," an audio story featuring interviews with three residents impacted by the Hi-Crush Mine in Augusta, Wisconsin.

Documenting emissions from new oil and gas wells in California

  Working with the environmental nonprofit Earthworks,…
Explore More Topics Explore FracTracker Maps