First-of-their-kind studies link air pollution from fracking and very small particles to early deaths among rural seniors

Two recent Harvard University studies highlight the dangers seniors face from air pollution.

The first study is the first to link early deaths among seniors to air pollution from nearby hydraulic fracturing operations. "Published in the peer reviewed scientific journal Nature Energy, the team of researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health blames a mix of airborne contaminants associated with what is known as unconventional oil and gas development. That is when companies use horizontal drilling and liquids under pressure to fracture underground rock to release the fossil fuels through a process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking," James Bruggers reports for Inside Climate News. "The closer people 65 and older lived to wells, the greater their risk of premature mortality, the study found. Those senior citizens who lived closest to wells had an early death risk 2.5 percent higher than people who did not live close to the wells, the researchers found."

The second study, published by the Health Effects Institute, examined the effect of air pollution as a whole on seniors' health. In a nutshell, "Older Americans who regularly breathe even low levels of pollution from smokestacks, automobile exhaust, wildfires and other sources face a greater chance of dying early," Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times. "The new study is the first in the United States to document deadly effects of the particulate matter known as PM 2.5 (because its width is 2.5 microns or less) on people who live in rural areas and towns with little industry."