methane risk map

This map shows where benzene is believed to have leaked Sept. 30 from an oil-field operation north of Bakersfield. Data compiled and analyzed by Oakland-based PSE Health Energy suggests the carcinogenic compound flowed into the air at an estimated rate of 413 kilograms per hour, covering seven-eighths of a mile. Because of the leak’s relatively isolated location, no sensitive sites or nearby residents are thought to have been affected.

 Image courtesy of PSE Healthy Energy

An interactive website unveiled this week offers new detail on what kind of pollutants, at what quantities, scientists believe escaped into the air during certain oil-field leaks north and west of Bakersfield in the last decade.

The Methane Risk Map by Oakland-based research nonprofit PSE Health Energy models potential community impacts based on data from selected leaks. A scientist involved acknowledged the site is neither a complete picture of recent emissions nor a representative example of such events.