"API Disputes African-American Health Study, Cites Genetics"

"The study, led by the NAACP, looked at Black Americans’ exposure to the oil and gas industry and related health risks."

"The American Petroleum Institute, the nation's largest oil and gas trade organization, is dismissing the findings of a study on the risks facing African Americans who live near oil and gas facilities, saying that health disparities may be caused by other factors instead, including 'genetics.'

The study by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Clean Air Task Force found that more than 1 million African Americans live within a half-mile of oil and gas wells and operations, and another 6.7 million live in counties with refineries. They warned that African Americans face disproportionate exposure to pollution as a result.

"I've read an NAACP paper released this week that accuses the natural gas and oil industry of emissions that disproportionately burden African American communities. As a scientist, my overall observation is that the paper fails to demonstrate a causal relationship between natural gas activity and the health disparities, reported or predicted, within the African American community," wrote Uni Blake, a scientific adviser in regulatory and scientific affairs at API, in a blog post Thursday."

Phil McKenna reports for InsideClimate News November 17, 2017.