Nearly 47 Million Americans Live Within a Mile of Fossil Fuel Infrastructure, Raising Major Public Health Concerns

A new study from Boston University paints one of the clearest pictures to date of how close Americans live to the sprawling network of fossil fuel infrastructure that stretches across the country. According to the research, an estimated 46.6 million people in the contiguous United States—about 14.1% of the population—live within roughly one mile (1.6 km) of at least one component of this energy system. What makes the study especially significant is that it examines the entire fossil fuel supply chain, from extraction to refining to storage to transportation to end-use, not just the most visible parts like oil wells or power plants.

The researchers emphasize that fossil fuel pollution doesn’t only come from the drilling sites or the smokestacks most people associate with emissions. Instead, the entire journey of oil and gas—broken into five stages: extraction, refining, storage, transportation, and end-use—contains multiple points where harmful pollutants may enter the air, soil, or water. Many of these mid-chain locations are almost invisible to the public, tucked in urban neighborhoods or industrial corridors that residents pass daily without realizing what they are near.

The Boston University team calls this the first national effort to map all of these infrastructure types and calculate how many people live close enough to be potentially exposed to pollutants such as volatile organic compounds, methane, particulates, and other hazardous emissions. Although scientific evidence already links living near extraction sites or power plants to health problems like asthma and adverse birth outcomes, the study highlights that less is known about the health effects of living near mid-supply chain infrastructure, where emissions and leaks can also occur.

A Breakdown of Who Lives Near What

The study details how many people live within about a mile of each infrastructure category:

End-use facilities, such as power plants, have nearly 21 million nearby residents.
Extraction sites, including oil and gas wells, also have more than 20 million people living close to them.
Storage facilities, such as underground gas storage sites, peak shaving facilities, and petroleum product terminals, have more than 6 million residents within the same range.
Refining and transportation infrastructure have fewer nearby residents overall, but still represent millions of people.
Around 9 million Americans live near multiple types of fossil fuel infrastructure, meaning they are exposed to overlapping risks.

One of the more striking findings of the study is that different types of infrastructure affect communities in very different ways. For example, a single extraction site has, on average, only 17 people living within a mile of it. This is because extraction typically occurs in rural or remote areas with lower population density. In contrast, a single storage facility has, on average, around 2,900 residents within that same distance. Storage sites tend to be located in denser, often urban regions, making them point sources of potential pollution for large numbers of people.

Urban patterns also stood out clearly in the data. Nearly 90% of people living near refining, storage, transportation, and end-use infrastructure are located in urban areas, not rural ones. With many of these locations embedded within neighborhoods, the exposure is close, consistent, and often unnoticed.

Significant Inequities in Exposure

A major theme in the study is the inequitable distribution of exposure across racial and ethnic lines. The research found that non-white populations experience higher exposure rates across all stages of the fossil fuel supply chain. This confirms long-standing concerns in environmental justice research that communities of color disproportionately bear the burden of pollution and industrial siting.

These inequities are especially visible in densely populated urban areas where storage facilities, transportation hubs, or refineries were built decades ago, often without meaningful community input. Combined with other environmental and socioeconomic stressors, this clustering heightens health vulnerability.

Why This Study Is the First of Its Kind

The study is made possible by the creation of a new national database, the Energy Infrastructure Exposure Intensity and Equity Indices (EI3) Database, developed by Boston University researchers. Before this project, data on fossil fuel infrastructure was spread across numerous local, state, and federal databases—some public, some behind paywalls, and many using inconsistent formats.

By gathering and harmonizing this information into one accessible dataset, the EI3 Database gives researchers, policymakers, and public health professionals a powerful tool to analyze exposure risks. It also enabled the launch of the SPH Energy and Health Lab, which plans to explore further how energy systems interact with public health.

The researchers stress that this study covers only the first step: identifying who lives near what. The next steps involve understanding what kinds of emissions occur at each stage of the supply chain and how those emissions affect human health. Many of these facilities have never been fully examined for their pollution output, leaving broad knowledge gaps.

What This Means for Public Health Research

Exposure to pollutants from fossil fuel infrastructure is already linked to various health outcomes, including respiratory problems, infant health risks, and in some cases, cancer. But the study notes that mid-supply chain infrastructure—refining, storage, and transportation—has rarely been examined in depth. These facilities can leak or release pollutants during routine operations, equipment failures, or accidents such as blowouts and spills.

Future research may include:

Continuous air and water monitoring near facilities
Evaluating noise, vibration, or light pollution
Studying links between exposure and health outcomes using data sources like Medicaid claims
Examining specific populations such as pregnant people or children
Comparing health effects across different stages of the supply chain

Because the new database aligns all infrastructure types geographically and demographically, future studies will be able to compare the risks of living near an extraction well versus a storage terminal or a refinery. This could reshape how regulators prioritize and manage different parts of the fossil fuel network.

Policy Implications and Community Impact

The study has clear implications for local and national policy. Some regions have zoning rules about how close fossil fuel infrastructure can be to homes or schools, but many areas allow these facilities to be built with few restrictions. The researchers point out that policymakers could see the greatest immediate impact by focusing on infrastructure types that affect the most people—particularly urban storage facilities.

The results also highlight the need for more equitable energy planning. As the country transitions toward cleaner energy sources, the researchers hope that this new visibility into existing exposures will help prevent repeating old patterns of inequitable siting.

Why Understanding the Full Energy Chain Matters

For many Americans, the visible parts of the fossil fuel system—oil wells, gas flares, power plants—represent the entirety of fossil fuel pollution. This study shows that the reality is much more complex. The mid-chain infrastructure that most people never think about may actually be responsible for a significant share of everyday exposures, especially in cities.

Understanding the full supply chain is essential not just for tackling climate change, but also for improving public health, shaping fair policies, and designing safer energy systems for the future.

Research Paper:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ae0da6/pdf