Following the System Beyond the Well Pad

In 2025, Exposure spent the year asking a deceptively simple question: what does the fracking–petrochemical system actually do—and what does it leave behind? Across dozens of conversations with scientists, attorneys, workers, and impacted residents, a clearer picture began to emerge. Not of isolated projects or one-off incidents, but of a connected industrial system that stretches far beyond the well pad and into people’s homes, bodies, and communities.

What the Science Shows

Early in the year, we spoke with Nicole Deziel, a public health researcher whose work examines health outcomes in communities living near oil, gas, and petrochemical development. She described a growing body of epidemiological research documenting adverse health impacts for people who live closer to these sites—particularly children—and how risk increases with proximity, duration, and cumulative exposure.

Rather than pointing to a single chemical or facility, the research highlights how layered exposures compound over time. The data, as she explained, consistently shows higher rates of health problems among those living nearer to oil and gas infrastructure compared to those farther away.

Labor, Waste, and Hidden Risk

The system does not stop at extraction. We spent time with workers and labor advocates who helped trace how hazardous materials move through the industry—often by truck, across state lines, and through rural communities that rarely appear in public debates.

Truck drivers described the physical toll of hauling waste and materials tied to oil and gas operations, including exposure risks that are seldom discussed outside the workforce itself. Their stories emphasized how risk is transferred down the supply chain, carried by people whose health and safety protections are often limited.

Living With the Impacts

We also listened to families living near compressor stations and industrial sites. They spoke about the loss of safety, permanence, and emotional attachment to homes they once expected to pass down through generations. Symptoms such as burning eyes, sore throats, headaches, and chronic anxiety were described not as isolated events, but as part of daily life.

These experiences are not evenly distributed. As we examined how impacts are studied and documented, a consistent pattern emerged: industrial infrastructure is often concentrated in communities with fewer political and economic resources, raising long-standing environmental justice concerns.

Policy, Permitting, and Structural Loopholes

Our reporting extended into the regulatory frameworks that shape how projects are approved. Environmental attorneys walked us through permitting systems that allow large industrial developments to be broken into smaller “minor” sources—each regulated separately, even when their combined pollution exceeds thresholds intended to protect public health.

This approach, they explained, can result in cumulative emissions that current regulatory structures are not designed to address. The outcome is legal compliance on paper alongside pollution levels that exceed what communities were told to expect.

Silencing Dissent and the Role of SLAPP Suits

We also examined how SLAPP suits—Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation—are used to discourage journalists, advocates, and residents from speaking publicly. These cases, as legal experts explained, are not necessarily about winning on the merits, but about creating financial and emotional pressure that chills participation.

Understanding these dynamics helped clarify why so many affected communities struggle to be heard, even when concerns are well-documented and widely shared.

Historical Warnings and Contemporary Crises

To place these issues in context, we looked to historical examples such as the Bhopal disaster, where weak oversight and limited accountability led to consequences that families are still living with decades later.

Closer to home, we examined the East Palestine train derailment and how institutional failures and gaps in transparency fueled public distrust during an environmental emergency. Experts noted that skepticism toward oversight agencies did not arise in a vacuum, but from repeated unanswered questions and incomplete data.

We continue to follow this story behind the scenes, working with scientists and impacted community members, with the goal of sharing more as the evidence develops.

A System, Not Isolated Events

Taken together, these conversations reinforced a central conclusion: fracking and petrochemical development do not operate in silos. They are part of a single industrial system linking extraction, manufacturing, labor, waste, health, and policy. Decisions made at one point in the system ripple outward—often in ways that only become visible years later.

As the United States moves toward another wave of natural gas extraction and petrochemical expansion—driven by data centers, artificial intelligence, and rising energy demand—the questions raised throughout 2025 are becoming more urgent. Who benefits? Who bears the risk? And who gets a seat at the table when decisions with long-term consequences are made?

Looking Ahead

These questions shaped our work in 2025. In 2026, Exposure will continue slowing this down and going deeper—returning to these stories with sharper focus and greater clarity. The work is ongoing, and we are still at the beginning.

Thank you for spending the year with us. We wish you a healthy, grounded start to the new year, and we look forward to continuing this work together.

Disclaimer:

Exposure is an editorial and investigative journalism platform produced by Ohio Valley Allies. The views and opinions expressed by hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the organization or its affiliates. Statements made by guests reflect their personal experiences, interpretations, and analysis, and should not be construed as assertions made by Exposure.

Our mission is to investigate and document the impacts of extractive industries—including oil, gas, petrochemicals, and plastics—through in-depth interviews, research, and storytelling. We aim to expose the truth behind these industries’ operations and consequences using good-faith inquiry, verified sources where possible, and the protections afforded to journalists under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

The content presented in this podcast is intended for informational, educational, and documentary purposes only. It should not be construed as legal advice, a call to action, or an endorsement of any specific viewpoint, protest, or organization.

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While Exposure covers controversial and high-stakes topics, we do so as journalists seeking transparency, accountability, and the free exchange of ideas—not as advocates for any political party, protest strategy, or legal action.