2013 Midwest Environmental Health Summit

Trevor M. Penning, Ph.D.

Director Center of Excellence in Environmental

Toxicology,Perelman School of Medicine

penning@upenn.edu

www.med.upenn.edu/ceet

Hydrofracturing:

Public Health Issues and

Impacts the PA Experience

2

What is the Marcellus Shale?

Half the land mass of Pennsylvania

22,835 sq miles

84 trillion cubic ft of natural gas

Price is $2 - $14 per cubic ft

Enough for the entire US population

for 4 yrs

Shale sedimentary rock

Organic rich and porous

Contains thermogenic methane

3

The Drill Rig

Drill head and pad 5-10 acre plot

Ideally one per sq mile

Saturating drilling 8 per square mile

High density drilling in Susquehanna

Co, PA

Pennsylvania would need 22,000 to

160,000 drill rigs

In April 2012 > 12,000 permits

4

Permit Sites in PA April 2012

(produced with Harvard World Maps)

5

The “Fracking” Process

6

The Holding Ponds for Flow-Back Water

Need 5M gallons water per well head

Each truck carries 4,000 gallons water

1250 truck loads

Proppant: 1.5 M pounds (silica/sand)

Requires 40 truck loads

X1 to x10 “frack” episodes per well

<30% in the flow back water held in pits

7

Diesel Trucking

Diesel Trucks Deliver:

Drill-Rigs

Propant

Fracking chemicals

Compressor parts

Gas line piping

Diesel Trucks Remove:

Natural gas

Waste water

8

Night-Time Flaring

Well is tested by flaring

Release of methane: BETEX

(benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene

and xylene)

Move towards marketing “wet-gas”

a larger portion of methane is burned

Release of hydrogen sulfide

9

Processing and Transport

Dehydration and condensation to

remove water and VOCs

Liquefy hydrocarbon by-products

(propane and butane)

Compressor stations to pressurize

natural gas for pipe-lines

High-pressure gas lines navigate

PA countryside

Welding exempt from safety

regulations in rural areas

Pipes join national grid

10

Additives in Fracking Fluid

Arthur et al., (2008) Hydraulic Fracturing Considerations for Natural gas

FracFocus.org Chemical Disclosure Registry- 12,000 disclosures

11

Potential for Water Pollution-Fracking Fluid

0.49% of fracking fluid contains a

mixture of chemicals

95 tons of chemicals are used

per well base

Composition is a trade-secret

Some chemicals listed by class and

not by CAS registry number

Classes of chemicals used include:

-BETEX

-Substituted benzenes

-Ethylene glycol

-Petroleum distillate

-Silica

-Sodium and potassium salts

-Ammonium salts

(Source DEP-PA)

12

Possible Health Effects of Chemicals with CAS Registry

Solubles (n=206) Volatiles (n =126)

Colborn et al., Human & Ecolog Risk Assess. 2011; 17, 1039

Based on MSDS

13

Potential for Water Pollution- Flow-Back Fluid

MCL = maximum contaminant level ppm

14

Potential for Water Pollution- Flow-Back Fluid

(NORM = Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material)

15

Potential for Air Pollution –VOCs and PM 2.5

Photochemistry between VOCs and nitrogen oxides generate

ground level ozone

Ground level ozone exacerbates underlying asthma and COPD

and causes lung injury

Diesel Exhaust – Transportation and Compressor Stations

-VOCs

-Butadiene, acrolein, formaldehyde

-PM2.5: carbonaecous core adsorbs PAH, nitro-PAH and metals

-PM2.5: lodge in the deep lung (bronchioles and alveoli)

-PM2.5: invoke an inflammatory response exacerbate lung disease

-Diesel exhaust: Group 1: carcinogenic in humans (IARC)

16

Occupational Exposures -1

NIOSH Concerned about safety of workers

Eleven states and five sites visited

>150 different occupations involved

Hydrogen sulfide exposure at the well-head

Movement of sand for propant and silicosis

Allamakee Co- Jordan Sandstone (Courtesy of Esswein-NIOSH)

17

Occupational Exposures-2

Unfettered access to fracking chemicals

Exposure to VOCs in flow-back pits

Exposure to diesel exhaust during all activities

(Courtesy of Esswein-NIOSH)

18

What does the science tell us?

CASE 1:

-7 residential wells In Leroy Township, Bradford Co

-affected by Cheaspeake natural gas drilling

ATSDR found:

- well 2 had 30 ug/L Arsenic

- wells 2-7 elevated Na but not Ba, Ca, Mn, and K

- bottled water given to residents using wells 2-4

CASE 2:

-11 homes in Dimock, Susquehanna Co PA

-Houston Cabot and Gas contaminated aquifer

EPA found (03-15-12):

-Surveyed 61 households

-6/11 homes elevated Na, CH4, Cr

-2/11 homes elevated As

-Levels do not present a health hazard

19

Methane in Drinking Water Comes From Natural Gas Drilling

51/60 drinking wells tested + ive (Osborn et al., PNAS 2011, 108: 8172)

20

Air Quality Monitoring in the Barnett Shale

Natural gas drilling in the Barnett Shale since 2002

Barnett Shale close to Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality - Air monitoring

Measured NOx, VOCs (benzene) source of ozone

Helicopter flyrovers with GasFind IR cameras/ handmonitors for VOC/ mobile GC/ SUMMA-sampling canisters

Monitored between 2009-2010; 560 sites

LOC for benzene 180 ppb (acute) and 1.4 ppb (chronic exposure)

Field deployed automated GCs for continuous monitoring at 2 sites

Only two incidences where LOC was exceeded

Results posted on Barnett Shale Geological Area

21

Public Health Concerns

Hazard ID x Exposure = Margin of

Safety &

Health

Risk

• Slick-water

• Fracking chemicals

• Contaminants in flow

back water

• VOCs and ozone

• CH4 and hydrocarbons

• Diesel exhaust and

PM2.5

Water pollution • Migration

• Aquifers

• Well water

• Ground water

• Surface water

Air pollution • Drill head proximity

• Compressor stations

• Transportation

Occupational

Vulnerable populations: children, pregnant women

x

22

What research needs to be done?

External Dose:

air and water quality longitudinal sampling-GIS tools (lack of base line data)

identify exposures for biomonitoring

Internal Dose:

biomarkers of exposure: (VOCs/PM2.5/heavy metals/other contaminants)

reliable LOC for all chemical contaminants (RfD) and margin of safety

biomarkers of effect: (intermediate disease biomarkers)

Epidemiological Study Longitudinal (> 5 yrs):

will require CBPR approach

base line health assessment

use of personalized air monitors/biosensors (external dose)

serum and urine/biofluids for biomarkers (internal dose)

each person their own control

Mechanistic Toxicology

components of fracking fluids and flow back water

complex mixture problem

HTS in vitro assays for triage to animal testing

23

What research needs to be done?

Community Outreach and Dissemination

affected communities

landowners and leasers

municipalities and townships

local, state and federal legislators and agencies

gas and drilling companies

Health Effects and Outcomes Research

public health professionals

occupational and environmental health physicians

stress of rapid industrialization

increase in substance abuse and crime

noise and sleep deprivation

monitor disease registries

Health Services Research

increase in hospital and mental health services

increase in accidents and injury

use of emergency medical services

are the sources adequate

24

Environmental Health Research Agenda

Potential

Health Hazard

Large

Population

Environmental

Scientists

Mechanistic Toxicology

Exposure Science

Translation- Environmental Law

Translation-

Public Health Policy

Translation-

Targeted Communities

Community Based

Participatory Research

Epidemiology &

Biostatistics

Public Health

Professionals

& Clinicians

Veterinary

Medicine

Animal Sentinels

Requires: $$$; Politics??

NY Times Article 01-21-13

25

State of Affairs in Pennsylvania

Gov. Tom Corbett (R) elected Jan 2011

-refuses to invoke an impact fee on gas-drillers

PA-DEP Secretary Krancer places moratorium on waste water tmt

after US EPA Region III intervenes-May 2011

Delaware Basin Water Commission postpones decision on

hydrofracking indefinitely-November 21, 2011

SB1100/HB-1950-Act 13: Impact fee introduced

-state takes back zoning authority from townships and municipalities

-imposes CDA for health care professionals to treat patients

State has primacy for water safety under SDWA and CWA

-Hailburton exemption makes flow-back water exempt from acts

Tom Corbett: “ I will direct the DEP to… return to its core mission

of protecting the environment based on sound science”

26

Latest Developments

Institute of Medicine April 30-May 1, 2012

The Health Impact Assessment of New Energy Sources:

Shale Gas Extraction http://iom.edu/Activities/Environment/EnvironmentalHealthRT/2012-APR-30.aspx

Frac Act Senators: Bob Casey (D-PA) and Chuck Schumer

(D-NY)

April 17th Executive Order 13605-President Obama

Supporting Safe and Responsible Development of

Unconventional Domestic Natural Gas Resources

Federal Register page and date: 77 FR 23107, April 17, 2012

April 17th, new EPA regulations to curtail emissions by 2015

2011, EPA Study Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing

on Drinking Water Resources- to be completed by 2014

27

The Precautionary Principle

The precautionary principle states that

if an action or policy has a suspected

risk of causing harm to the public or to

the environment, in the absence of

scientific consensus that the action or

policy is harmful, the burden of proof

that it is not harmful falls on those

taking the action.

28

29

Latest Developments

2011, EPA Study Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing

on Drinking Water Resources

Hydrofracturing water cycle

-water acquistion-destruction of water

-chemical mixing and surface spills

-well injection

-flow back or produced water /ground water contamination

-waste water treatment

Sources of data

-9 companies, 25,000 wells, 12,000 chemical disclosures

-toxicological data is being complied

-laboratory studies

-case studies 70 domestic water wells, 15 monitoring wells

13 surface water sources

Completion date 2014

http://epa.gov/hfstudy/

30

Hazard Identification- what is the chemical?

Dose response-what is the shape of the

dose-response curve and NOAEL?

Exposure assessment-what is the exposure?

external and internal dose

Risk Characterization-what is the likelihood to

cause harm (margin of exposure, ratio of

exposure to NOAEL)

Risk Communication

Risk Management

Assessing Risk