Michael McCawley

Air Pollution Particulate Matter Collected from an Appalachian Mountaintop Mining Site Induces Microvascular Dysfunction

Air pollution PM is associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In Appalachia, PM from mining may represent a health burden to this sensitive population that leads the nation in cardiovascular disease, among others. Cardiovascular consequences following inhalation of PMMTM are unclear, but must be identified to establish causal effects.

Atmospheric particulate matter size distribution and concentration in West Virginia coal mining and non-mining areas

People who live in Appalachian areas where coal mining is prominent have increased health problems compared with people in non-mining areas of Appalachia. Coal mines and related mining activities result in the production of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) that is associated with human health effects. There is a gap in research regarding particle size concentration and distribution to determine respiratory dose around coal mining and non-mining areas. Mass- and number-based size distributions were determined with an Aerodynamic Particle Size and Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer to calculate lung deposition around mining and non-mining areas of West Virginia. Particle number concentrations and deposited lung dose were significantly greater around mining areas compared with non-mining areas, demonstrating elevated risks to humans. The greater dose was correlated with elevated disease rates in the West Virginia mining areas. Number concentrations in the mining areas were comparable to a previously documented urban area where number concentration was associated with respiratory and cardiovascular disease.

Xenobiotic Particle Exposure and Microvascular Endpoints: A Call to Arms

Please cite this paper as: Stapleton PA, Minarchick VC, McCawley M, Knuckles TL and Nurkiewicz TR. Xenobiotic Particle Exposure and Microvascular Endpoints: A Call to Arms. Microcirculation 19: 126–142, 2012.

Practical measures for reducing the risk of environmental contamination in shale energy production.

Gas recovery from shale formations has been made possible by advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology. Rapid adoption of these methods has created a surge in natural gas production in the United States and increased public concern about its environmental and human health effects. We surveyed the environmental literature relevant to shale gas development and studied over fifteen well sites and impoundments in West Virginia to evaluate pollution caused by air emissions, light and noise during drilling. Our study also characterized liquid and solid waste streams generated by drilling and hydraulic fracturing and evaluated the integrity of impoundments used to store fluids produced by hydraulic fracturing. While most shale gas wells are completed with little or no environmental contamination, we found that many of the problems associated with shale gas development resulted from inattention to accepted engineering practices such as impoundment construction, improper liner installation and a lack of institutional controls. Recommendations are provided based on the literature and our field studies. They will address not all but a great many of the deficiencies that result in environmental release of contaminants from shale gas development. We also identified areas where new technologies are needed to fully address contaminant releases to air and water.

Public health implications of environmental noise associated with unconventional oil and gas development

Modern oil and gas development frequently occurs in close proximity to human populations and increased levels of ambient noise have been documented throughout some phases of development. Numerous studies have evaluated air and water quality degradation and human exposure pathways, but few have evaluated potential health risks and impacts from environmental noise exposure. We reviewed the scientific literature on environmental noise exposure to determine the potential concerns, if any, that noise from oil and gas development activities present to public health. Data on noise levels associated with oil and gas development are limited, but measurements can be evaluated amidst the large body of epidemiology assessing the non-auditory effects of environmental noise exposure and established public health guidelines for community noise. There are a large number of noise dependent and subjective factors that make the determination of a dose response relationship between noise and health outcomes difficult. However, the literature indicates that oil and gas activities produce noise at levels that may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes, including annoyance, sleep disturbance, and cardiovascular disease. More studies that investigate the relationships between noise exposure and human health risks from unconventional oil and gas development are warranted. Finally, policies and mitigation techniques that limit human exposure to noise from oil and gas operations should be considered to reduce health risks.

Adequacy of Current State Setbacks for Directional High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing in the Marcellus, Barnett, and Niobrara Shale Plays

Background: There is an increasing awareness of the multiple potential pathways leading to human health risks from hydraulic fracturing. Setback distances are a legislative method to mitigate potential risks. Objectives: We attempted to determine whether legal setback distances between well-pad sites and the public are adequate in three shale plays. Methods: We reviewed geography, current statutes and regulations, evacuations, thermal modeling, air pollution studies, and vapor cloud modeling within the Marcellus, Barnett, and Niobrara Shale Plays. Discussion: The evidence suggests that presently utilized setbacks may leave the public vulnerable to explosions, radiant heat, toxic gas clouds, and air pollution from hydraulic fracturing activities. Conclusions: Our results suggest that setbacks may not be sufficient to reduce potential threats to human health in areas where hydraulic fracturing occurs. It is more likely that a combination of reasonable setbacks with controls for other sources of pollution associated with the process will be required. Citation: Haley M, McCawley M, Epstein AC, Arrington B, Bjerke EF. 2016. Adequacy of current state setbacks for directional high-volume hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus, Barnett, and Niobrara Shale Plays. Environ Health Perspect 124:1323–1333; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510547

Air contaminants associated with potential respiratory effects from unconventional resource development activities.

Unconventional natural gas development uses horizontal drilling in conjunction with hydraulic fracturing to gain access to natural gas deposits which may be tightly held in shale deposits and unavailable to conventional vertical drilling operations. The intensive work required to extract this source of energy results in higher than usual numbers of vehicles involved, potential release of emissions from those vehicles in congested zones surrounding the drill site, and release of other contaminants from materials drawn back out of the borehole after fracturing of the shale. Typical contaminants would be diesel exhaust particulate and gases, volatile organic compounds and other hydrocarbons both from diesels and the drilling process, crystalline silica, used as part of the hydraulic fracturing process in kiloton quantities, and methane escaping from the borehole and piping. A rise in respiratory disease with proximity to the process has been reported in nearby communities and both silica and diesel exposures at the worksite are recognized respiratory hazards. Because of the relatively short time this process has been used to the extent it is currently being used, it is not possible to draw detailed conclusions about the respiratory hazards that may be posed. However, based on the traffic volume associated with each drill site and the number of drill sites in any locale, it is possible at least to compare the effects to that of large traffic volume highways which are known to produce some respiratory effects in surrounding areas.

A Rationale for Sampling Deposited Submicrometer Beryllium Particulate Matter

The established particle size-selective criteria are based on the probability of an aerosol penetrating into the lung rather than depositing. For submicrometer particulate matter, penetration is a constant 100%, while deposition fluctuates. The deposited submicrometer particulate criterion has been suggested as a more appropriate measure of exposure for particles less than 1 μ m in size. There is some preliminary evidence that these smaller particles may be of significance for chronic beryllium disease. It has also been suggested that particle number might provide a better surrogate of exposure than total mass for beryllium sampling. There are two basic approaches that can be used for sampling for a deposition based criterion. The first is to determine the overall size distribution and apply a deposition factor based on the geometric mean and geometric standard deviation to the total amount of material collected. The second approach is to have specifically designed equipment for the deposition criterion of interest. This second approach is more practical, and methods are available and are being developed to make it available to the hygienist. Although there are reasons to believe that submicrometer-deposited beryllium particles are associated with the risk of beryllium disease, these measures need to be made so that epidemiologists will have the data available to fully confirm their relevance. Where the data already exist, epidemiologists need to be aware that there is evidence supporting using it their analyses.

Does increased traffic flow around unconventional resource development activities represent the major respiratory hazard to neighboring communities?: knowns and unknowns.

Purpose of review The objective of this review is to demonstrate that the focus on air emissions causing respiratory effects and associated with gas development may be misplaced by attributing those exposures mainly to well pad activities. Recent findings The most recent publications on the health effects of hydraulic fracturing operations seem to parallel findings from studies of diesel particulate exposure near roadways and the health effects associated with those exposures. It seems at least possible that some, if not all, of the respiratory effects associated with unconventional resource development may be traffic-related. Road traffic generated by hydraulic fracturing operations is one possible source of environmental impact whose significance has, until now, been largely neglected in the available literature with 4000 to 6000 vehicles visiting the well pad. Summary Exposures from well pads diminish rapidly with distances of only a few kilometers but there is evidence showing disease risk multiple kilometers from well pads. This leaves open the possibility that the several thousand vehicle trips per well pad create traffic emissions over wide areas away from the pad. This alternative source of exposure has not previously been well studied but is being more seriously considered.

Atmospheric impacts of a natural gas development within the urban context of Morgantown, West Virginia

The Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) in West Virginia provides a unique opportunity in the field of unconventional energy research. By studying near-surface atmospheric chemistry over several phases of a hydraulic fracturing event, the project will help evaluate the impact of current practices, as well as new techniques and mitigation technologies. A total of 10 mobile surveys covering a distance of approximately 1500 km were conducted through Morgantown. Our surveying technique involved using a vehicle-mounted Los Gatos Research gas analyzer to provide geo-located measurements of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The ratios of super-ambient concentrations of CO2 and CH4 were used to separate well-pad emissions from the natural background concentrations over the various stages of well-pad development, as well as for comparisons to other urban sources of CH4. We found that regional background methane concentrations were elevated in all surveys, with a mean concentration of 2.699 ± 0.006 ppmv, which simply reflected the complexity of this riverine urban location. Emissions at the site were the greatest during the flow-back phase, with an estimated CH4 volume output of 20.62 ± 7.07 g/s, which was significantly higher than other identified urban emitters. Our study was able to successfully identify and quantify MSEEL emissions within this complex urban environment.