An estimated 30,000 Ohioans live within 650 feet of an underground natural gas storage well, according to a .
The study examined storage facilities in six states, finding that 65 percent of wells are in urban and suburban areas. The wells hold natural gas before delivery to businesses and households.
鈥淟ooking at these wells, I realized that they were in people鈥檚 backyards,鈥� said lead author Drew Michanowicz, a research associate at Harvard University鈥檚 Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment. 鈥淭hey were in neighborhoods 鈥� somewhat different than you might think of new, unconventional wells in rural areas.鈥�
Many wells appear to predate the development that grew up around them, he said. Michanowicz said he hopes the research will offer more insight into a part of the natural gas supply chain that isn鈥檛 often discussed.
In 2015 and 2016, a months-long led to the displacement of thousands from the area.
Such leaks of methane from storage wells can contribute to climate change, Michanowicz said. State data on leaks in Ohio was not immediately available.
Ohio鈥檚 storage wells are clustered in several places across the state, including southern Lorain County, between Mansfield and Wooster, northwest of Canton and south of Lancaster.
鈥淲hen you look at the storage wells in the Stark, Summit and Wayne County areas that are from Dominion, those date back to the 1940s, well before that area became populated,鈥� Ohio Oil and Gas Association spokesman Mike Chadsey said.
Congress approved new regulations for pipelines and storage facilities in the wake of the Aliso Canyon leak. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration , but in June 2017.
In addition to Ohio, the study looked at wells in Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Michigan and California. Researchers from Boston, Duke and Columbia universities, as well as Harvard Law School and Boston Children鈥檚 Hospital, joined Michanowicz as authors. The study was funded by the and the .
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