The corroded skeletons are all that remain of hundreds of abandoned oil wells that were drilled long before her family owned the land. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 3.2 million abandoned oil and gas wells exist in the United States. In recent years, abandoned wells have been found under brush deep in forests and beneath driveways in suburbia. Air quality tests revealed high levels of benzene and carbon dioxide, most likely from a nearby abandoned oil well. A garage in Pennsylvania exploded — a consequence, the state suspects, of abandoned gas wells.

Source: ABC News July 29, 2021 15:00 UTC