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

Brine spreading map

Oil and Gas Brine in Ohio

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A hazardous byproduct of oil & gas operations, called “brine," poses a problem because of its radioactivity and the volumes produced.

PA Environment Digest Blog: Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Dispose Of Drill Cuttings By ‘Dusting’

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David Hess reports on the pervasive & dangerous practice of waste disposal at oil and gas well drilling sites via “dusting.”
This photo is of oil drilling in the Inglewood Oilfields of Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles. Photo by Brook Lenker, 2017.

Implications of a 3,200-foot Setback in California

California is the only major oil state without a health and safety setback from fossil fuel activity. This article explores what a setback in California means for its people and environment.
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