A nationwide analysis published in Environmental Research Letters estimates that 46.6 million people—about 14.1% of the contiguous U.S. population—live within roughly a mile of fossil fuel infrastructure. Led by Boston University researchers, the study finds higher exposure in predominantly nonwhite and urban communities and calls for closer scrutiny of mid–supply-chain facilities.
A Boston University–led study offers what the authors describe as the first national estimate of how many people live near fossil fuel infrastructure across the supply chain. According to the paper in Environmental Research Letters and university summaries, 46.6 million people in the contiguous United States reside within 1.6 kilometers (about one mile) of at least one site such as wells, refineries, pipelines, storage facilities, or transportation infrastructure.
The analysis breaks down proximity by facility type. Nearly 21 million people live near end‑use sites like power plants; just over 20 million are close to extraction sites such as oil and gas wells; and more than 6 million live near storage facilities, including peak‑shaving sites, underground gas storage, and petroleum terminals. About 9 million people live near multiple types of infrastructure, so they are counted in more than one category.
Jonathan Buonocore, the study’s first author and an assistant professor of environmental health at Boston University, said the work “helps us get a general size of the potential problem, and really starts the process of doing a better job of understanding exactly what the hazards are and how many people are potentially exposed.” He noted that the results begin to quantify exposure from less visible parts of the energy system.
The researchers report disparities consistent with earlier environmental justice findings. Predominantly nonwhite communities have higher exposure across supply‑chain stages, and proximity is concentrated in cities: almost 90% of those living near end‑use, transportation, refining, and storage sites are in urban areas. On average, a storage facility has about 2,900 nearby residents, compared with roughly 17 for an extraction site—reflecting the tendency for storage to be sited in denser places. Buonocore said that focusing on storage could deliver the greatest impact per site for local policymakers seeking to reduce exposures.
Senior author Mary Willis, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Boston University, said there is reason to expect emissions and other hazards across the supply chain—from consistent pollution and gas leaks to blowouts at wells—underscoring the need to study mid‑supply‑chain facilities that have received relatively little attention.
The study draws on the Energy Infrastructure Exposure Intensity and Equity Indices (EI3) Database for Public Health, developed by the team and introduced in spring 2024. The dataset consolidates scattered public information and is hosted on Harvard Dataverse. Co‑authors include Fintan Mooney, Erin Campbell, Brian Sousa, Breanna van Loenen, M. Patricia Fabian, and Amruta Nori‑Sarma.
The authors say their findings should spur monitoring of pollutants near these facilities and inform future health studies that can guide equitable energy and public‑health policy.