(Press-News.org) A team led by environmental engineers from Drexel University are the first independent researchers to take a closer look at the air quality effects of natural gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania. The group used a mobile air quality monitoring vehicle to survey regional air quality and pollutant emissions at 13 sites including wells, drilling rigs, compressor stations and processing areas. Their work establishes baseline measurements for this relatively new area of extraction.
While there have been a number of studies focusing on water quality impacts related to natural gas extraction in shale regions across the country, few have looked at the effect on air quality. In a paper recently published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Peter DeCarlo, PhD, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences, and J. Douglas Goetz, a doctoral researcher in the Drexel Air Resources Research Laboratory, present the findings of a two-month mobile air monitoring campaign in several counties in the northeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania.
The team looked specifically at gaseous chemicals and particulate matter released into the air from natural gas extraction. They compared levels of carbon monoxide, methane, ethane, nitrogen oxides and other volatile organic compounds to those found in other shale formations across the country where natural gas was being extracted.
According to DeCarlo, air emission studies of shale gas extraction facilities in this region have thus far focused solely on the release of methane due to its impact on the climate system. DeCarlo's research has a broader scope and is the first to also test for air pollutants that could pose a more immediate and local health hazard.
The most significant findings of the research include:
Relatively small increases in chemicals that affect air quality, such
as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic chemicals compared to other
monitored regions. This indicates that these types of emissions
cannot be generalized for all oil and natural gas extraction regions.
The number of ultrafine particles originating from compressor
stations was elevated, although the total particulate mass was not
significantly increased. Ultrafine particles, though not regulated in
the U.S., are thought to have health impacts.
Methane emissions observed were generally higher than those
reported in previous studies.
DeCarlo's team collected the data in collaboration with Aerodyne Research, Inc., using its Mobile Laboratory vehicle that looks something like a moving van with several sampling inlets affixed to the roof and instruments and computers for data processing inside. The Electric Power Research Institute funded the study and its air quality scientists helped guide the research concept and design plan.
The research focused on two distinct regions of the Marcellus Shale formation where hydraulic fracturing is being used to extract natural gas. Bradford and Susquehanna are two counties in Northeast Pennsylvania that are part of the region known for producing "dry gas"--gas that is predominantly methane. The team spent two weeks in the summer of 2012 in the region before performing similar sampling in the southwestern part of the state, which is known to produce "wet gas." Wet gas contains higher levels of hydrocarbons including ethane, propane and butane, which can be separated and sold or used in other chemical processes.
Despite not having direct access to the sites, the group was able to use a fence line tracer-release sampling protocol. This allowed them to make downwind measurements with the mobile laboratory and provide an accurate assessment of site emissions and potential air quality impact.
The team collected air quality data from four types of sites associated with the extraction and processing of natural gas: drilling sites--where the wells are being created; completion sites--the end of the drilling and hydraulic fracturing process when wells are prepared for continuous natural gas extraction; production sites--where natural gas is actively being extracted; and compressor stations--where the natural gas is pressurized for transport.
"In looking at a cross section of sites, we identified compressor stations as one of the larger long-term emission sources," DeCarlo said. Completion sites were another large source of pollutants, although these emissions are transient. "In terms of persistent impacts to local air quality, compressor stations and other post-extraction processing are major sources of pollutants that have the potential to affect downwind air quality."
DeCarlo sees these findings as the first step toward a better understanding of the impact of natural gas extraction on the environment, which will allow leaders and citizens to make more informed choices and policies regarding the practice and energy policy as a whole.
"It's important not only to understand the impact of natural gas extraction on local and regional environments," DeCarlo said. "But this information also fills in part of a bigger picture of the overall air quality and climate-relevant emissions from the entire life cycle of shale gas compared to other sources of electrical power including nuclear, renewables and other fossil fuels like coal."
INFORMATION:
The number of new Ebola cases is tapering off, but the search for new treatments continues. Now, one research team has found potential drug candidates that successfully treated up to 90 percent of mice exposed to the Ebola virus. They report their findings in the journal ACS Infectious Diseases.
Bogdan A. Solaja, Rekha G. Panchal and colleagues note that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve any therapeutic drugs or vaccines against the Ebola virus that, since December 2013, has infected more than 25,000 people and taken the lives of more than 10,000. ...
Despite efforts over decades to diversify the ranks of university faculty, only 4 percent of chemistry professorships at 50 leading U.S. colleges and universities are held by underrepresented minorities. That key finding and others related to diversity in academia came from a new survey conducted by a program called Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity (OXIDE) in partnership with Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.
Senior Editor Linda Wang and Assistant Managing Editor Sophie Rovner at C&EN report that ...
HOUSTON - (May 20, 2015) - Whether people locate their sense of self in the brain or the heart can have a major influence on people's decision-making, according to a new study by management and business experts at Rice University and Columbia University.
Overall, the study found people tend to locate the self in the brain.
The paper, "Who You Are Is Where You Are: Antecedents and Consequences of Locating the Self in the Brain or the Heart," will be published in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
"We view our research as a first step ...
Twitter 'big data' could provide valuable details about transgender individuals' health and social needs
Transgender and gender nonconforming people are at high risk for diseases such as AIDS and are vulnerable to depression and other mental health issues, but may be reluctant to disclose their identities to researchers due to stigma. As a result, very little is known about their health and social needs.
New research from the UC Institute for Prediction Technology in the UCLA Department of Family Medicine suggests that social media could help fill that knowledge gap. ...
A multidisciplinary team led by Johns Hopkins researcher Venu Raman, Ph.D., with notable contributions from Guus Bol, Farhad Vesuna and Phuoc Tran of Johns Hopkins, has identified a new therapy for lung cancer, the most common cancer worldwide. The therapy has been in development for six years and involves a first-in-class molecule designed by the team. The molecule, RK-33, interrupts the cell cycle of lung cancer cells without harming normal cells, and it is effective both on its own and in combination with radiation therapy.
The team designed the molecule to bind to ...
LAWRENCE -- Whole Foods Market encourages its employees to connect with the supermarket's "core values" on a personal level and make them "come to life" every day in their work.
Whether it's at the organic foods supermarket or firms such as Google or Apple or even Southwest Airlines, cohesive corporate culture is a strong buzzword among some of the world's most successful companies.
However, a University of Kansas researcher who studies the intersection of economics, evolutionary theory and philosophy has found that strong culture among a business' employees is only ...
The drug dasabuvir (trade name Exviera) has been available since January 2015 for the treatment of adults with chronic hepatitis C infection. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined in a dossier assessment whether this drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy.
According to the findings, there are indications of an added benefit in patients who have not yet developed cirrhosis of the liver and who are infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1a. In case of genotype 1b, this only applies to treatment-naive, ...
Radio systems, such as mobile phones and wireless internet connections, have become an integral part of modern life. However, today's devices use twice as much of the radio spectrum as is necessary. New technology is being developed that could fundamentally change radio design and could increase data rates and network capacity, reduce power consumption, create cheaper devices and enable global roaming.
A pioneering team of researchers from the University of Bristol's Communication Systems and Networks research group, have developed a new technique that can estimate ...
Oral care products containing a natural chemical that stops bacteria harming teeth could help prevent decay, a study suggests.
The plant natural product acts against harmful mouth bacteria and could improve oral health by helping to prevent the build-up of plaque, researchers say.
The compound - known as trans-chalcone - is related to chemicals found in liquorice root. The study shows that it blocks the action of a key enzyme that allows the bacteria to thrive in oral cavities.
The bacteria - Streptococcus mutans - metabolise sugars from food and drink, which produces ...
Some mountain gorilla females linger into adulthood in the group into which they were born. In the process, they also remain in the company of their father, who is often their group's dominant male. To curb inbreeding, though, they appear to tactically avoid mating with their fathers. This strategy works so well that the chances of alpha gorilla males siring the offspring of their own daughters are effectively zero, according to Linda Vigilant of the Max Planck Institute for Anthropology in Germany. The findings are published in Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology and ...
