Living Close to Oil Wells Leads to Lower Birth Weights

(Bloomberg) -- Humans have lived side by side with oil development for over a century, but it's only recently that scientists started tracking the health consequences of that proximity. A new paper published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives shows that pregnant women in rural areas who lived within one kilometer of high-producing wells were 40% more likely to have low birth weight babies compared to those who lived further away.

Birth weights below 5 lbs. 8 oz. correlate with higher risk of health problems in early childhood, sometimes even carrying into adulthood.

Rachel Morello-Frosch, an environmental health and justice researcher at the University of California at Berkeley and the lead author of the study, said that even though California is a top oil and gas state, hers was the first broad-based study to tackle related health impacts in the state.

Her team looked at the records of nearly 3 million births to women living within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of at least one oil or gas well, active or inactive, between 2006 and 2015. In rural areas near the most active wells, they found, women were 20% more likely to give birth to babies relatively small for their gestational age, even if they didn't reach the threshold for low birth weight. Babies carried to full term were 1.3 oz. smaller on average than those born to mothers who don't live near wells. The researchers found no evidence of higher mortality for the babies born near wells.

While women in urban and suburban areas closer to oil wells also had an elevated risk of low birth weight babies, it was to a far lesser extent. The researchers said that, without access to the production sites, it's difficult for them to pinpoint the precise causes of adverse health effects. But there are myriad factors in play. For example, Morello-Frosch said, people living further from municipal water systems are more likely to rely on groundwater as a drinking source, which is more likely to be affected by oil and gas extraction.

These findings come as the Trump administration has scaled back environmental regulations for oil and gas extraction. At the same time, California is debating new and more stringent permitting requirements for oil and gas extraction in the state.

The results of the oil study showed no disparate impacts by race, but the spread of Covid-19 has nevertheless brought attention to the increased health and environmental risks facing communities of color in the U.S. Numerous studies, including at least one by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, show that minority communities are exposed to higher concentrations of pollution, and deadly air particulate matter in particular. The Union of Concern Scientist says African-Americans in the northeast and midwest are exposed to 61% more air pollution particles from burning gasoline.

The health consequences of oil extraction go well beyond areas close to wells. But Morello-Frosch hopes the local concerns will weigh on policy-makers. “This scientific evidence of adverse health effects facing vulnerable populations—including pregnant women—should be taken into account as Californians debate the extent to which we to want to expand oil and gas drilling in our state," she said.