Exposure to unconventional oil and gas development and all-cause mortality in Medicare beneficiaries

Longxiang Li (), Francesca Dominici, Annelise J. Blomberg, Falco J. Bargagli-Stoffi, Joel D. Schwartz, Brent A. Coull, John D. Spengler, Yaguang Wei, Joy Lawrence and Petros Koutrakis
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Longxiang Li: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Francesca Dominici: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Annelise J. Blomberg: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Falco J. Bargagli-Stoffi: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Joel D. Schwartz: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Brent A. Coull: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
John D. Spengler: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Yaguang Wei: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Joy Lawrence: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Petros Koutrakis: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health

Nature Energy, 2022, vol. 7, issue 2, 177-185

Abstract: Abstract Little is known about whether exposure to unconventional oil and gas development is associated with higher mortality risks in the elderly and whether related air pollutants are exposure pathways. We studied a cohort of 15,198,496 Medicare beneficiaries (136,215,059 person-years) in all major US unconventional exploration regions from 2001 to 2015. We gathered data from records of more than 2.5 million oil and gas wells. For each beneficiary’s ZIP code of residence and year in the cohort, we calculated a proximity-based and a downwind-based pollutant exposure. We analysed the data using two methods: a Cox proportional hazards model and a difference-in-differences design. We found evidence of a statistically significant higher mortality risk associated with living in proximity to and downwind of unconventional oil and gas wells. Our results suggest that primary air pollutants sourced from unconventional oil and gas exploration can be a major exposure pathway with adverse health effects in the elderly.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41560-021-00970-y

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