Health and Safety

Learn about how the oil and gas industry impacts health and safety through FracTracker articles, maps, and imagery.

Health and Safety Risks

The FracTracker articles and maps below explore the ways that unconventional oil & gas development impact public health and safety, including air pollution, water contamination, pipeline incidents such as explosions, fracking-induced earthquakes, and more. We analyze many of these issues through an Environmental Justice lens, considering that marginalized communities are disproportionately impacted by health issues caused by oil and gas activities.

Image Gallery

Explore our images of health and safety issues related to energy exploration, extraction, production, and fossil fuel products and byproducts.

East Palestine Disaster

Explore an album of images related to the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Related Articles

Colorado Operators Increase Chemical Disclosures After Public Pressure, but Major Gaps Remain

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Since the release of a May 2025 report exposing widespread noncompliance with Colorado’s 2022 oil and gas chemical disclosure law, well-by-well oil and gas chemical disclosures have significantly increased, nearly doubling the total submitted since the law took effect under the state’s landmark transparency legislation.

Power Plant Locations and Unemployment Rates

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A FracTracker analysis investigates the link between energy infrastructure and economic distress, revealing that U.S. power plants are disproportionately concentrated in counties with high unemployment.
Los Angeles, California skyline

Environmental Justice Analysis of Oil Extraction in Los Angeles Communities

Oil drilling in Los Angeles disproportionately burdens marginalized communities. This analysis shows elevated poverty and non-white demographics in areas with high well density, exacerbating environmental injustice.
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