URBAN OIL DRILLING IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY

Studies show that the closer people live to an active oil well, the higher their risk of exposure to toxic air pollution. In addition to suffering from higher incidents of nosebleeds, chronic migraines, nausea, asthma and other respiratory illnesses, these communities often live with constant noise of drilling and vibrations, bad odors, and diesel truck traffic. Despite the overwhelming evidence of risks associated with living near these wells, California has no statewide rule mandating safe setbacks from oil wells. As early as May 2016, advocacy groups in Los Angeles began calling for 2,500-foot buffer zones, a distance that Physicians for Social Responsibility LA later endorsed as the minimum required setback to protect communities.

Built on the continued work of advocacy groups like People Not Pozos, this graduate-level research project for a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) course explored the spatial relationship of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable populations, and their nearness to urban oil fields, to determine who is most at risk of exposure to the toxic emmissions of the oil industry. The study found there to be 7,060 operational urban oil drilling sites in Los Angeles County. Of the 10.2 million people living in Los Angeles County, 1.3 million live within 2,500 feet of at least one oil well (often more). Nearly 22% of people living within this “high risk zone” are defined as “highly vulnerable” — Angelenos with the fewest political, economic or social opportunities for recourse, whose health and wellbeing are often overlooked. Through mapping the spatial relationship between oil drilling sites and vulnerable communities in Los Angeles County, the study calls attention to ill-advised legislation and lackluster responses that effectively place the interests of a few big oil corporations over the health and wellbeing of over one million Angelenos.

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