The 150 million Americans routinely exposed to toxic air as a result of oil and gas drilling need better protection from their government, demanded a coalition of 64 environmental and community groups, who on Tuesday filed a petition (pdf) asking the Environmental Protection Agency to set limits on the air pollutants emitted from these wells.
The explosion of oil and gas drilling—largely due to the expansion of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” drilling techniques—is putting more and more people at risk, the petition argues, as fossil fuel extraction is now encroaching on communities across Pennsylvania and western states where shale oil and gas are found.
“EPA needs to do its job and protect frontline victims of fracking by reducing the toxic fallout from the practice,” said Jim Schermbeck of the Dallas-Ft. Worth-based clean air group Downwinders at Risk.
And despite evidence that at least 100,000 tons of hazardous pollutants—including benzene, formaldehyde, and naphthalene—are being emitted from these sites each year, these emissions have remained largely unchecked.
“More than 150 million Americans now live near oil and gas wells or above shale areas where companies are looking to drill or engage in hydraulic fracturing, and EPA needs to set standards that restrict the hazardous air pollutants they put into the air,” said Emma Cheuse, an attorney with Earthjustice, who filed the petition on behalf of the coalition, which includes Clean Air Council, Clean Air Taskforce, Downwinders at Risk, Environmental Defense Fund, Global Community Monitor, Natural Resources Defense Council, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, Sierra Club, and WildEarth Guardians.
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