Leaky natural gas pipelines and production facilities pose safety and environmental hazards.A new study表明该问题也有种族和经济影响。

The study, published earlier this month in the journalEnvironmental Science and Technology, finds that leaky natural gas lines are more common in neighborhoods where low-income and people of color live. Researchers concluded that the number of gas leaks increased by nearly 40% among communities of color when compared to mostly white neighborhoods. Leaks were roughly 25% lower in high-income neighborhoods when compared to average income neighborhoods.

环境防御基金，一个环境宣传小组，Google Earth Outreach和科罗拉多州立大学进行了合作。在2014年至2017年之间，通过在美国大都市13个地区的街道上开车在Google Street View上安装的测试设备，以搜索气体泄漏。然后将结果与人口普查数据进行了比较。

该研究说：“我们对所有都会区的组合分析揭示了令人不安的不平等。”“泄漏密度随着有色人种百分比和减少收入的增长而增加。”

研究人员还发现统计证据表明，随着住房年龄的增长，天然气泄漏的数量（泄漏的“密度”）增加。但是，即使允许住房年龄，研究人员也列举了泄漏密度与特定市区有色人种百分比之间的“有关关系的持续存在”。

“The results of our analyses suggest that the burdens associated with natural gas leaks resulting from degraded pipelines are not equally distributed across race or income and thus present an environmental injustice,” the authors of the report said.

Natural gas, most of which is methane, is used by some 48% of U.S. homes for heating, according to the study, and it remains a popular fuel for cooking. Methane that escapes from underground distribution pipelines poses a variety of problems. It can be an explosion hazard; the report cites the case of a 12-year-old girl who died in a 2018 gas explosion in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in Dallas. Methane also has between 27 and 30 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 100-year period, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

天然气泄漏是一个整个行业的问题，影响了从炼油厂到厨房炉灶的一切。根据an article published by Bloomberg, nearly 8000 power plants, oil and gas companies and refineries report emissions to the EPA, but experts believe the figures substantially under-report leaks. Even companies that have invested diligently in leak prevention can be shocked when methane-detecting cameras show actual leaks many times greater than what had been calculated using an EPA equation.

In a California study研究人员于1月份出版，说厨房即使关闭了大量甲烷。与500,000辆汽车的年度二氧化碳排放具有相同的气候影响。

In the most recent study, some 4.5 million people lived in the neighborhoods that were scanned for methane. Cities represented both the east and west coasts as well as Chicago, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse, NY. Leak densities varied considerably. In two metro areas—Indianapolis and Mesa, AZ—researchers found essentially no leaking gas lines (densities near zero) while in Boston and Staten Island, NY, leak densities were as high as 0.75 leaks per mile.

泄漏是一个昂贵的问题

根据该报告，在2010年至2020年之间报告了约256起重大天然气分布事件，这可能归因于腐蚀或设备故障或不正确操作。这些事件导致13人死亡，161起需要住院的伤害，总经济损失为17亿美元。

“尽管很少见，但自然的影响气体报告指出，泄漏爆炸通常是巨大的，我们的分析表明，这些影响更可能发生在收入较低或有色人种百分比的社区中。”

Gas leaks also are an economic burden to consumers who pay for the lost gas through higher utility rates. The mercaptan added to natural gas can be a health or nuisance problem when the gas seeps out of pipelines.

Among the suggestions that researchers made:

• Utility companies could use leak surveillance and advanced leak detection to reduce the burden on the public for reporting problems.
• 公用事业还可以在收入较低，住房较老，有色人种的有色人种（报告称为“环境正义”社区）的领域中进行煤气线维修和更换。
• 有关泄漏位置，维修和管道事件的数据应向公众提供。

科罗拉多州立教授，一位研究作者约瑟夫·冯·菲舍尔（Joseph von Fischer）在书面声明中说：“公用事业公司可以采取明确的道路解决这个问题。例如，在做出有关基础设施管理的决策时，他们可以对其系统进行泄漏的分析，并考虑人口统计信息。”

The Environmental Defense Fund said the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which oversees the operation of gas pipelines, is in the process of setting新标准. But the new rules are not yet complete.

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斯科特·吉布森是特约作者GBA and精美的房屋建筑杂志。