Active Lungs & Breathing Climate, Earth & Environment

Quantifying local health effects of fugitive methane and co-emitted pollutants due to local emissions from the Permian basin’s oil and gas operations

Funder Wellcome Charity-funded
Associated organisations Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development · Texas A&M Agrilife Research Foundation · Texas A&M University Europe PMC affiliations are not treated as award recipients or mapped locations.
Funding £569K
Period Nov 2025 — Oct 2027

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

Methane leaking from oil and gas operations in west Texas is cooking up lung-damaging ozone in the air people breathe. This matters because methane is a potent precursor to ground-level ozone, a pollutant that triggers asthma attacks, worsens chronic lung disease, and strains the heart. While regulators track methane as a greenhouse gas, its direct role in local air quality and human health is poorly quantified—especially in regions like the Permian basin, one of the world's most active oil and gas fields. The research team will feed satellite and ground-monitoring data into a high-resolution Earth system model to trace methane's chemical journey from wellhead to ozone plume. They will then calculate how many extra respiratory illnesses and heat-related health problems result, and put a price tag on those damages. If successful, the project will produce a "data-to-action" framework that local health authorities, state regulators, and international policymakers can use to target methane mitigation where it saves the most lives. This could shift how oil and gas emissions are regulated—not just for climate, but for the immediate health of nearby communities.

View original technical description
Methane is a major precursor to tropospheric ozone, a pollutant linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this project is to quantify the regional health impacts associated with methane (CH₄) and co- emitted pollutants in regions characterized by substantial oil and gas activity, such as the Permian basin in west Texas.Employing a newly developed emission-driven Earth system model (CESM2.2), this research will first simulate the lifecycle of methane along with its interactions with co-emitted species, constrained by both satellite remote sensing and surface air quality monitoring data. Next, we will assess the impact of methane on regional ozone levels and the associated direct and indirect health effects. Direct health impacts, including respiratory illnesses, will be quantified using established concentration-response functions. Indirect health impacts, such as excess heat, will also be assessed. The economic valuation of health effects will then be conducted.The scientific findings will facilitate the development of a "data-to-action" framework to be disseminated to local and regional stakeholders, as well as international policymakers, for enhancing methane mitigation strategies and regulatory initiatives. This project directly aligns with the Wellcome Trust's interest in characterizing the impacts of fossil fuel emissions on air quality and associated health risks.

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Researchers

Gabrielle Dreyfus (EPMC Awardee)Gunnar Schade (EPMC Awardee)Weihsueh Chiu (EPMC Awardee)Yangyang Xu (EPMC Awardee)

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Original classification

Discretionary Award

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