New research suggests fracking is probably poisoning the air

Researchers from Oregon have concluded that the air quality around fracking operations is bad. Very bad.

The researchers found that hydraulic fracturing -- a technique for releasing natural gas from below-ground rock formations -- emits pollutants known as PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), including some that are linked with increased risk of cancer and respiratory ailments.

"Air pollution from fracking operations may pose an under-recognized health hazard to people living near them," said the study's coauthor Kim Anderson, an environmental chemist with OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences.

The team's research was published as a part of a larger study, being co-led by public health expert Erin Haynes at Environmental Science and Technology. The study began when concerned citizens approached Haynes with questions about the potential airborne health hazards potentially posed by fracking.

Haynes got in touch with Anderson and Kincl, and together they designed the study to include citizen participation. They placed air samplers on the properties of 23 volunteers living or working at sites ranging from right next to a gas well to a little more than three miles away.

What they found, though not really surprising to people following hydraulic fracturing practices and seemingly non-existent regulations, was that air quality took a big hit.

The samplers picked up high levels of PAHs across the study area. Levels were highest closest to the wells and decreased by about 30 percent with distance.

Even the lowest levels -- detected on sites more than a mile away from a well -- were higher than previous researchers had found in downtown Chicago and near a Belgian oil refinery. They were about 10 times higher than in a rural Michigan area with no natural gas wells.

The researchers applied this information to environmental standards of the day—what are the potential effects to people in the surrounding area?

The team also accounted for the influences of wood smoke and vehicle exhaust, common sources of airborne pyrogenic PAHs. Wood smoke was consistent across the sampling area, supporting the conclusion that the gas wells were contributing to the higher PAH levels.

The researchers then used a standard calculation to determine the additional cancer risk posed by airborne contaminants over a range of scenarios. For the worst-case scenario (exposure 24 hours a day over 25 years), they found that a person anywhere in the study area would be exposed at a risk level exceeding the threshold of what the EPA deems acceptable.

That's crazy bad. Before we grab our pitchforks, the fact remains that this is a small sample size and does not necessarily apply to all fracking operations. But these results do apply to this fracking operation and should really prompt health officials to add it to the list of environmental factors we must be testing for and regulating.