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.

Visualizing Pollution: Corpus Christi Data Dashboard

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The Corpus Christi Data Dashboard is a comprehensive map viewer that visualizes air and water quality data in Corpus Christi, Texas, utilizing FLIR imagery videos, air and water pollution monitor data, and facility locations.
Oil refinery in Toledo, OH. Photo by Ted Auch.

Testimony On EPA’s Proposed Methane Pollution Standards for the Oil and Gas Industry

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FracTracker Alliance supports strong federal methane rules and urges further improvements that are needed to curb dangerous methane emissions.

Major Gas Leak Reveals Risks of Aging Gas Storage Wells in Pennsylvania

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Following an enormous gas leak in Jackson Township, Cambria County Pennsylvania, we mapped oil and gas storage wells and fields throughout the state and found that the majority of Pennsylvania’s storage wells were drilled prior to 1979, making them most vulnerable to well failures.
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