Post on 16-Jul-2015
Natural Gas Development, Public Health, and Protecting the Most
Vulnerable Populations
Carol Kwiatkowski, PhDExecutive Director, TEDX The Endocrine Disruption Exchange
Durango Herald June 1, 2012
NPR Morning Edition November 3, 2009
ProPublica September 12, 2011
Inside Climate News March 21, 2012
The New York Times January 21, 2013
Huffington Post February 14, 2013
The Medical News March 19, 2012
The Times-Tribune August 26, 2013 3
Effects of unconventional natural gas development
Image from John Adgate. See Adgate et al. 2014. Potential Public Health Hazards, Exposures and Health Effects from Unconventional Natural Gas Development. Environ Sci Technol: doi:10.1024/es404621d.
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Presentation Overview
• Natural gas operations• Air pollution
– Sources– Pollutants– Health effects
• Endocrine disruption and prenatal exposure
• Symptoms • What you can do
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Photo by Robert Donnan
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Acids Biocides
Breakers Clay stabilizers
Corrosion inhibitors Crosslinkers
Defoamers Foamers
Friction reducers Gellants
pH control Proppants
Scale control Surfactants
Functional categories of hydraulic fracturing chemicals
Adapted from Colborn T, Kwiatkowski C, Schultz K, Bachran M. 2011. Natural gas operations from a public health perspective. Human & Ecological Risk Assessment 17(5):1039-1056.
Condensates are feedstock for:electronics, pesticides, plastics, shampoo, toys, cell phones, pharmaceuticals, sporting goods, clothes, cosmetics, furniture, computers, cars, detergents, food additives, mattresses, fabrics, household products, pots and pans, athletic equipment, food color, airplanes, candy, food packaging, cleaning products, toothpaste, glass, preservatives, TVs,
carpet, raingear, men’s toiletries, receipts, laundry products, paint, soap, deodorants, metals, shower curtains, baby products, sunscreens
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Drilling chemicalsDrilling pit evaporationFracking chemicalsEvaporation pitsCondensate tanksProduced water tanksSeparators/heater treatersCompressorsVenting and flaringPipelines, valves, pneumaticsGeneratorsLight and heavy trucks
Sources of air pollution
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Methane (natural gas)Carbon dioxide
Nitrogen oxides (NOx)Volatile organic compounds
Hydrogen sulfideNaturally occurring radioactive material (NORM)
Particulate matter
23Photo by Kevin Dirk
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Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) + Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) + Sunlight = Ozone
Ozone + Particulate Matter = Smog
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•Shortness of breath, pain when taking a deep breath•Coughing, sore or scratchy throat•Inflamed and damaged airways•Aggravated lung diseases
•Asthma •Emphysema •Chronic bronchitis
•Greater susceptibility to lung infection
Effects of Ozone
US EPA http://www.epa.gov/air/ozonepollution/health.html
An Exploratory Study of Air Quality near Natural Gas Operations
•Weekly sampling over one year for VOCs, PAHs, carbonyls and methane
•Independent laboratory analysis of samples
•EPA approved methods: TO-12/ PAMS Protocol; TO-15; TO-11A; TO-13A; M18
Colborn T, Schultz K, Herrick L, Kwiatkowsi C. 2014. An exploratory study of air quality near natural gas operations. Hum Ecol Risk Assess 20(1):86-105.
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Chemicals Detected in at Least 50% of Samples
Chemical name % Detects
methane, ethane, propane, toluene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, naphthalene
100%
isopentane, crotonaldehyde 90-99%n-butane, isobutane, n-pentane, MEK & butyraldehyde, acetone 80-89%
n-hexane, methylcyclohexane, methylene chloride, phenanthrene 70-79%
m/p-xylenes, fluorene 50-69%
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Health effect categories Number of chemicals with effects
Brain and nervous system 35Liver and metabolic 33Endocrine system 30Other 29Immune system 28Cardiovascular and blood 27Skin, eye, and sensory organ 25Respiratory 25Kidney 23Genotoxic 23Cancer and tumorigen 18Gastrointestinal 14
Potential Health Effects
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Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
• Result from incomplete combustion and are also present in petroleum sources, including crude oil and produced water from oil and gas development
• Attach to ultra-fine particles and travel long distances
• Can go from lungs directly into blood stream, can also be ingested
• Are carcinogens • Are endocrine disrupting chemicals
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Benzo[a]pyrene Naphthalene
What are endocrine disruptors?
Prenatal development is a critical exposure periodEffects can be permanentEffects are seen at extremely low concentrations
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Hormones are involved in: development, reproduction, thyroid and immune function, intelligence and behavior, metabolism, and more.
Chemicals that affect hormone signaling.
Chemical name % DetectsNaphthalene 100%Phenanthrene 76%Fluorene 52%
* Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene 38%* Benzo[g,h,i]perylene 33%* Dibenzo[a,h]anthracene 33%* Benzo[a]pyrene 24%* Benzo[b]fluoranthene 24%* Benzo[k]fluoranthene 24%* Benzo[a]anthracene 10%* Chrysene 10%
Acenaphthylene 5%
PAHs Detected in Garfield County Air
* Associated with health effects in prenatal exposure studies 32
Effects of Prenatal Exposure to PAHs
•At birth: preterm, low birth weight, and smaller skull circumference (Perera et al. 2004)
•At 3 years old: lower mental development scores (Perera et al. 2006)
•At 5 years old: lower IQ scores (Perera et al. 2009)
• At 7 years old: attention and behavioral problems, metabolic problems and obesity (Perera et al. 2012; Rundle et al. 2012)
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• BENZENE (in 44% of samples)– Preterm birth, decreased prenatal growth, spina bifida – Sperm abnormalities– Increased asthma, wheeze, respiratory dysfunction,
bronchitis– Immune dysfunction
• TOLUENE (in 100% of samples)– Asthma and other respiratory functions– Immune effects, allergic responses– Cardiovascular disease
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Other chemicals of concern
Hormone Activity in Surface and Ground Water
Hormone activity was higher in test sites than control sites, where it was nearly absent.
Chemicals used in natural gas operations, some of which were identified at the test sites by another team of researchers, were also hormonally active. Kassotis CD, Tillitt DE, Davis JW, Hormann AM, Nagel SC. 2013. Estrogen and androgen receptor activities of hydraulic fracturing chemicals and surface and ground water in a drilling-dense region. Endocrinology: doi:10.1210/en.2013-1697.
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124,842 births in 57 rural Colorado counties 1,823 children born with a congenital heart defect
The likelihood of having a child with a congenital heart defect increased linearly with the increasing density and proximity of natural gas wells to the mother’s residence while pregnant.
McKenzie LM, Guo R, Witter RZ, Savitz DA, Newman LS, Adgate JL. 2014. Birth outcomes and maternal residential proximity to natural gas development in rural Colorado. Environ Health Perspect: doi: 10.1289/ehp.1306722
Effects of Prenatal Exposure
Density/proximity of gas wells:
No wells within 10 miles
Lowdensity/proximity
Mediumdensity/proximity
Highdensity/proximity
% Heart Defects 1.3% 1.5% 1.6% 1.8%
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Shale Gas Development and Infant Health:Evidence from Pennsylvania
• Living within 2.5 km (1.6 miles) of a well led to– 25% increase in babies with ‘low birth weight’– 18% increase in babies born ‘small for gestational age’– 26% increase in APGAR scores below 8
• Effects were larger for lower SES children• Some effects were detected up to 3.5 km (2.2
miles) from the wellhead
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Hill E. 2013. Unconventional Natural Gas Development and Infant Health: Evidence from Pennsylvania. Cornell University: Working Paper, Charles Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. www.dyson.cornell.edu/research/researchpdf/wp/.../Cornell-Dyson-wp1212.pdf.
Reported symptoms
• Headaches, nausea, upper respiratory irritation, nosebleeds (CO incident database)
• Fatigue, nasal irritation, throat irritation, sinus problems, burning eyes, shortness of breath, joint pain, feeling weak and tired, severe headaches, sleep disturbance (PA survey)
• Stress over health, perceptions of corruption, false information etc. (PA interviews)
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Challenges to exposure research and treatment
• Need scientifically rigorous studies on health affects and symptoms
• Many symptoms are similar to common ailments (allergies, colds); other symptoms don’t manifest until much later in life (kidney, liver problems)
• Need to measure/model extreme events and mixtures of air pollutants
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What you can do
• Talk to local legislators –town, county and state– Full disclosure of
chemicals– Monitoring of pollutants– Best practices – and better– Big setbacks
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• Find a local organization or start one of your own– Collect baseline data if possible
What you can do
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•Engage the medical community•Take a CME course http://www.psehealthyenergy.org/COURSES
•Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments http://envirn.org/pg/groups/59988/fracking-and-public-health/
•Get medical associations involved
The following associations have told the US EPA to “…adopt the strongest possible standards to reduce harmful emissions..” from the oil and gas industry.
•American Lung Association•American Public Health Association•American Thoracic Society•Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America•Trust for America’s Health