Chemicals from gas wells were discovered in biological samples drawn from residents of Pavillion, Wyoming, at levels asย much as ten times the national averages, according to a new report. The study is the first to sample both theย air near drilling sites and the levels of chemicals in people living and working near those wells, allowing researchers toย study the ways that toxic air pollutants are entering people’s bodies near gas wells and putting their health atย risk.
The researchers found evidence of 16 potentially dangerous chemicals in 11 individuals who volunteered to participate inย the study by wearing air monitors and providing blood and urine samples. They found benzene, toluene, 2-heptanone, 4ย heptanone and evidence of roughly a dozen other substances โย including some known to be quite dangerous and othersย for which little safety information isย available.
Wilma Subra, a chemist and microbiologist who has spent three decades researching the impacts of toxic chemicals, andย who participated in the new report, told DeSmog that there was reason to be concerned about the health ofย the peopleย included in the study, saying that they found chemicals โabove acceptable levels in manyย cases.โ
The health concerns would be about the same in many gas fields across the U.S., she said. โIt is very similar to otherย areasย where shale has been developed,โ she added, โbut also to areas where conventional drilling has taken placeย overย theย years.โ
Pavillion is perhaps best-known nationwide for its battles over water contamination and fracking, which began inย roughlyย 2008 when locals first reported that their water tasted different and carried strange odors. Theย Environmentalย Protection Agency launched a study, then dropped it, leaving the investigation to state regulators whoย have yet to reach any finalย conclusions.
In March, scientists from Stanford University published a paper concluding thatย drinking water supplies showed clear evidence of contamination from frackingย operations.
Encana, a drilling company operating in Pavillion has continued to deny that it polluted locals’ drinking water. But while the scientific debate over the water in Pavillion raged, the air emissions from the gas field have remained relatively less studied,ย despite complaints from locals about headaches, nosebleeds and oddย smells.
โOur family has experienced phantom odors, rashes, hair loss, respiratory conditions, neurological problems,ย epilepticย seizures, cancer, and huge hits to how we think and reason,โ said John Fenton, a Pavillion rancher.ย โThese symptomsย match up with the known effects of the toxic chemicals emitted in our air from gasย productionย operations.โ
โThis biomonitoring project was an opportunity to find out if the chemicals we know are in the air, are also in ourย bodies,โย Fentonย said.
The Pavillion area has experienced heavy drilling over the past several decades. โMy wifeโs family has been here for overย 40ย years. When I first came to the farm there were two gas wells on it,โ Fenton, who was profiled in Gasland, toldย theย researchers. โOver the next 15 years, 22 more wereย drilled.โ
In recent years, oil and gas drilling near people’s homes has become increasingly common. On Wednesday, a map showing that roughly 12.4 million people live within a half-mile of at least one active oil or gas well was published by Earthworks and the Clean Air Taskย force.
โSome of the wells are 50 to 100 feet from the homes,โ Subra, a MacArthur Fellowshipย โGeniusโ Award recipient, said aboutย Pavillion, โwhich is similar to the Marcellus and Haynesville.โ The Marcellus shale is in Pennsylvania and theย Haynesville stretches across parts of Texas, Louisiana andย Arkansas.
And years of living near the wells can cause long-term chemical exposures and healthย issues.
The new report, which wasย conducted by a group of environmental non-profits and scientists led by the Vermont-based collaborative Comingย Clean, described one gas-related substance, โtrans,transmuconic acid,โ that was found in urine samples fromย Pavillion residents in higher concentrations than the median levels for refinery workers in Brazil. But relatively little isย known about the health impacts of the vast majority of chemicals associated with drilling andย fracking.
Thisย lack of data is noย reason for inaction, the report entitled When the Wind Blows: Tracking Toxic Chemicals in Gasย Fields and Impacted Communities argues, because the dangers from the most-studied chemicals discovered in theย study, a group of volatile organic compounds known as the BTEX chemicals (benzene, tolulene, ethyl-benzene andย xylenes) areย sufficientlyย clear.
โHighly toxic chemicals present in the Pavillion area indicate that current environmental regulations are notย adequatelyย protecting community members from harm,โ the researchers wrote. โWhile additional research can beย helpful,ย regulatory agencies already have enough emissions data available to justify swift action to protect public healthย andย theย environment.โ
In fact, the risks may only grow over time, they wrote, because of the area’s long history of drilling and a lack of federalย controls over abandoned oil and gas wells. โThe Pavillion/Muddy Ridge gas field consists of ageing andย inadequatelyย constructed wells, deteriorating infrastructure and known contamination,โ they wrote, โthat poses anย evenย greater hazard as the fieldย ages.โ
Photo Credit:ย Jeremy Buckingham/Creativeย Commons
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