Exposure to natural gas flaring raises risk of preterm birth by 50%

Researchers from University of Southern California (USC) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), United States (U.S.), have found that exposure to flaring — the burning off of excess natural gas — at oil and gas production sites is associated with 50 per cent higher odds of preterm birth, compared with no exposure.

An environmental health scientist at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, Jill Johnston, said: “Our study finds that living near flaring is harmful to pregnant women and babies. We have seen a sharp increase in flaring in Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale, and this is the first study to explore the potential health impacts.”

The research was published July 15 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The study examined 23,487 live births to women living within the Eagle Ford region from 2012 to 2015. The Eagle Ford Shale geological formation, measuring 50 miles wide and 400 miles long, is one of the most productive oil and gas regions in the country due to hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” In a previous study, the research team estimated the area was subject to more than 43,000 flaring events between 2012 and 2016. Flares, which can burn for weeks at a time, have been shown to release chemicals such as benzene as well as fine particle pollution, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, heavy metals and black carbon. Several of these combustion-related pollutants have been associated with a higher risk of preterm birth and reduced birth weight in other contexts. Of the births analysed by researchers, 10.6 per cent were preterm, occurring before the 37th completed week of pregnancy. Preterm birth is associated with complications such as immature lungs, difficulty regulating body temperature, poor feeding and slow weight gain.

The researchers used satellite observations to measure flaring activity because systemic reporting of flaring is lacking. They adjusted for other known risk factors for preterm birth in their analysis, including age, smoking, insurance status and access to prenatal care, and concluded that exposure to a high amount of flaring was associated with 50 per cent higher odds of preterm birth compared with no exposure. A high amount of flaring was defined as 10 or more nightly flare events within three miles of the pregnant woman’s home.

An environmental health scientist with the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health who co-led the study with Johnston, Lara Cushing, said: “Women who identified as Latina or Hispanic in our study were exposed to more flaring and more likely to see an increased risk of preterm birth, raising environmental justice concerns about the oil and gas boom in south Texas. Our study adds to the evidence that oil and gas development is negatively impacting birth outcomes and suggests stricter regulation of the industry is needed.”

Women who lived within three miles of a high number of oil and gas wells also had higher odds of a preterm birth than mothers who did not live near wells. Their babies were also born weighing 19.4 grammes, or seven ounces, lighter on average.

This suggests that, in addition to flaring, other exposures related to oil and gas wells may also be adversely impacting pregnancy, the researchers said.

The majority (55 per cent) of the women in the study population identified as Latina or Hispanic, and the odds of preterm birth among Hispanic women exposed to high levels of flaring was greater than the corresponding odds among non-Hispanic White women, who made up 37 per cent of the study population. Nearly 60 per cent of women in the study were on public health insurance (Medicaid) and 17 per cent were foreign born.