Unconventional Oil And Gas Development Research Articles

The human health effects of unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD): A scoping review of epidemiologic studies

ObjectiveUnconventional oil and gas development (UOGD, sometimes termed “fracking” or “hydraulic fracturing”) is an industrial process to extract methane gas and/or oil deposits. Many chemicals used in UOGD have known adverse human health effects. Canada is a major producer of UOGD-derived gas with wells frequently located in and around rural and Indigenous communities. Our objective was to conduct a scoping review to identify the extent of research evidence assessing UOGD exposure–related health impacts, with an additional focus on Canadian studies.MethodsWe included English- or French-language peer-reviewed epidemiologic studies (January 2000–December 2022) which measured exposure to UOGD chemicals directly or by proxy, and where health outcomes were plausibly caused by UOGD-related chemical exposure. Results synthesis was descriptive with results ordered by outcome and hierarchy of methodological approach.SynthesisWe identified 52 studies from nine jurisdictions. Only two were set in Canada. A majority (n = 27) used retrospective cohort and case–control designs. Almost half (n = 24) focused on birth outcomes, with a majority (n = 22) reporting one or more significant adverse associations of UOGD exposure with: low birthweight; small for gestational age; preterm birth; and one or more birth defects. Other studies identified adverse impacts including asthma (n = 7), respiratory (n = 13), cardiovascular (n = 6), childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia (n = 2), and all-cause mortality (n = 4).ConclusionThere is a growing body of research, across different jurisdictions, reporting associations of UOGD with adverse health outcomes. Despite the rapid growth of UOGD, which is often located in remote, rural, and Indigenous communities, Canadian research on its effects on human health is remarkably sparse. There is a pressing need for additional evidence.

High Chlorine Concentrations in an Unconventional Oil and Gas Development Region and Impacts on Atmospheric Chemistry.

Growth in unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) in the United States has increased airborne emissions, raising environmental and human health concerns. To assess the potential impacts on air quality, we deployed instrumentation in Karnes City, Texas, a rural area in the middle of the Eagle Ford Shale. We measured several episodes of elevated Cl2 levels, reaching maximum hourly averages of 800 ppt, the highest inland Cl2 concentration reported to date. Concentrations peak during the day, suggesting a strong local source (given the short photolysis lifetime of Cl2) and/or a photoinitiated production mechanism. Well preproduction activity near the measurement site is a plausible source of these high Cl2 levels via direct emission and photoactive chemistry. ClNO2 is also observed, but it peaks overnight, consistent with well-known nocturnal formation processes. Observations of organochlorines in the gas and particle phases reflect the contribution of chlorine chemistry to the formation of secondary pollutants in the area. Box modeling results suggest that the formation of ozone at this location is influenced by chlorine chemistry. These results suggest that UOGD can be an important source of reactive chlorine in the atmosphere, impacting radical budgets and the formation of secondary pollutants in these regions.

Residential proximity to unconventional oil and gas development and birth defects in Ohio

BackgroundChemicals used or emitted by unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) include reproductive/developmental toxicants. Associations between UOGD and certain birth defects were reported in a few studies, with none conducted in Ohio, which experienced a thirty-fold increase in natural gas production between 2010 and 2020. MethodsWe conducted a registry-based cohort study of 965,236 live births in Ohio from 2010 to 2017. Birth defects were identified in 4653 individuals using state birth records and a state surveillance system. We assigned UOGD exposure based on maternal residential proximity at birth to active UOG wells and a metric specific to the drinking-water exposure pathway that identified UOG wells hydrologically connected to a residence (“upgradient UOG wells”). We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all structural birth defects combined and specific birth defect types using binary exposure metrics (presence/absence of any UOG well and presence/absence of an upgradient UOG well within 10 km), adjusting for confounders. Additionally, we conducted analyses stratified by urbanicity, infant sex, and social vulnerability. ResultsThe odds of any structural defect were 1.13 times higher in children born to mothers living within 10 km of UOGD than those born to unexposed mothers (95%CI: 0.98–1.30). Odds were elevated for neural tube defects (OR: 1.57, 95%CI: 1.12–2.19), limb reduction defects (OR: 1.99, 95%CI: 1.18–3.35), and spina bifida (OR 1.93; 95%CI 1.25–2.98). Hypospadias (males only) was inversely related to UOGD exposure (OR: 0.62, 95%CI: 0.43–0.91). Odds of any structural defect were greater in magnitude but less precise in analyses using the hydrological-specific metric (OR: 1.30; 95%CI: 0.85–1.90), in areas with high social vulnerability (OR: 1.27, 95%CI: 0.99–1.60), and among female offspring (OR: 1.28, 95%CI: 1.06–1.53). ConclusionsOur results suggest a positive association between UOGD and certain birth defects, and findings for neural tube defects corroborate results from prior studies.

Social Vulnerability and Groundwater Vulnerability to Contamination From Unconventional Hydrocarbon Extraction in the Appalachian Basin.

Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) development, made possible by horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing, has been fraught with controversy since the industry's rapid expansion in the early 2000's. Concerns about environmental contamination and public health risks persist in many rural communities that depend on groundwater resources for drinking and other daily needs. Spatial disparities in UOG risks can pose distributive environmental injustice if such risks are disproportionately borne by marginalized communities. In this paper, we analyzed groundwater vulnerability to contamination from UOG as a physically based measure of risk in conjunction with census tract level sociodemographic characteristics describing social vulnerability in the northern Appalachian Basin. We found significant associations between elevated groundwater vulnerability and lower population density, consistent with UOG development occurring in less densely populated rural areas. We also found associations between elevated groundwater vulnerability and lower income, higher proportions of elderly populations, and higher proportion of mobile homes, suggesting a disproportionate risk burden on these socially vulnerable groups. We did not find a statistically significant association between elevated groundwater vulnerability and populations of racial/ethnic minorities in our study region. Household surveys provided empirical support for a relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and capacity to assess and mitigate exposures to potentially contaminated water. Further research is needed to probe if the observed disparities translate to differences in chemical exposure and adverse health outcomes.

Health Symptoms and Proximity to Active Multi-Well Unconventional Oil and Gas Development Sites in the City and County of Broomfield, Colorado.

City and County of Broomfield (CCOB) residents reported over 500 health concerns between January 2020 and December 2021. Our objective was to determine if CCOB residents living within 1 mile of multi-well unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) sites reported more frequent health symptoms than residents living > 2 miles away. We invited 3993 randomly selected households to participate in a health survey. We applied linear regression to test associations between distance to UOGD and summed Likert scores for health symptom categories. After covariate adjustment, respondents living within 1 mile of one of CCOB's UOGD sites tended to report higher frequencies of upper respiratory, lower respiratory, gastrointestinal and acute symptoms than respondents living more than 2 miles from the sites, with the largest differences for upper respiratory and acute symptoms. For upper respiratory and acute symptoms, scores differed by 0.81 (95% CI: 0.06, 2.58) and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.004, 1.99), respectively. Scores for adults most concerned about air pollution, noise and odors trended higher within 1 mile for all symptom categories, while scores among adults least concerned trended lower. Scores trended higher for lower respiratory, gastrointestinal and acute symptoms in children living within 2 miles of UOGD, after covariate adjustment. We did not observe any difference in the frequency of symptoms reported in unadjusted results. Additional study is necessary to understand relationships between proximity to UOGD and health symptoms.

Coordinated Program of Research on Multi-Pathway Community Exposures Associated with Unconventional Oil and Gas Development

BACKGROUND AND AIM. People can be exposed to chemical agents (e.g., benzene) and non-chemical agents (e.g., noise, light, and vibration) released from unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD). Important knowledge gaps limit our understanding of the temporal and spatial variability of these exposures, as well as the UOGD processes leading to potential exposures. We aim to describe a new coordinated program of research funded by HEI Energy that will investigate potential exposure pathways between UOGD releases of noise and chemicals to air and water and people in communities affected by this development in major oil- and natural gas-producing regions of the United States. METHODS. Three research teams from different institutions are collaborating to: 1) develop and evaluate a novel combined emissions and dispersion model (Tracking Community Exposures and Releases from UOGD [TraCER] model) that can be used for future UOGD emissions and exposure research nationally, and 2) conduct air quality and noise monitoring to improve understanding of potential acute and chronic human exposures and to evaluate the model in Colorado and Texas. Research teams assessing water-related exposures are combining existing data with machine learning and fate and transport models to evaluate exposure pathways between UOGD processes and water sources in Colorado, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. The research will involve meaningful engagement with stakeholders in the study locations. RESULTS: HEI Energy’s coordinated program of research and stakeholder engagement will provide critical information to support decision making about how best to protect human health. It will produce publicly available data for use in future UOGD health studies and accountability research, as well as models and frameworks, that can be applied to any region in the United States, to connect specific UOGD processes to potential exposures to noise and chemicals in air and water.

Road salting and natural brine migration revealed as major sources of groundwater contamination across regions of northern Appalachia with and without unconventional oil and gas development

High methane and salt levels in groundwater have been the most widely cited unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) related water impairments. The attribution of these contaminants to UOGD is usually complex, especially in regions with mixed land uses. Here, we compiled a large hydrogeochemistry dataset containing 13 geochemical analytes for 17,794 groundwater samples from rural northern Appalachia, i.e., 19 counties located on the boundary between Pennsylvania (PA; UOGD is permitted) and New York (NY; UOGD is banned). With this dataset, we explored if statistical and geospatial tools can help shed light on the sources of inorganic solutes and methane in groundwater in regions with mixed land uses. The traditional Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicates salts in NY and PA groundwater are mainly from the Appalachian Basin Brine (ABB). In contrast, the machine learning tool – Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) highlights that road salts (in addition to ABB) account for 36%–48% of total chloride in NY and PA groundwaters. The PCA fails to identify road salts as one water/salt source, likely due to its geochemical similarity with ABB. Neither PCA nor NMF detects a regional impact of UOGD on groundwater quality. Our geospatial analyses further corroborate (1) road salting is the major salt source in groundwater, and its impact is enhanced in proximity to highways; (2) UOGD-related groundwater quality deterioration is only limited to a few localities in PA.

A mobile application to protect groundwater during unconventional oil and gas extraction.

Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) is an important energy source for many countries, but requires large quantities of water for its development, and may pollute water resources. Regulations are one of the main tools to achieve government policy on natural resource protection. South Africa, which is energy-constrained, but also water-scarce, is currently considering UOG extraction as an additional energy resource. UOG development could commence as soon as regulations to protect natural resources such as water have been published. Such regulations are, however, often not effectively enforced, which negatively affects the protection of water resources during UOG extraction. This study addresses these enforcement challenges in South Africa. It focuses on the science–society–policy interface by proposing a civic informatics platform to assist with on-the-ground enforcement of regulations via a mobile application. This mobile application aims to address both groundwater monitoring and management as well as UOG extraction operations in a single platform, to enable regulators to protect groundwater resources more effectively during UOG extraction, while simultaneously enhancing transparency in the UOG industry.

Balanced stress fracturing theory and its application in platform well fracturing during unconventional oil and gas development

Platform well fracturing is essential for the efficient development of unconventional oil and gas (UOG), and it has been widely applied in oilfields. Field practices have revealed that various fracturing methods result in different stimulation performances, but the mechanisms responsible for these differences are not completely understood. To explore the characteristics of the inter-well stress interference of various platform well fracturing methods, a numerical model was established for the systematic assessment of the stress field of simultaneous fracturing, zipper fracturing (ZF), modified zipper fracturing, and synergic fracturing (SF). Based on these analyses, balanced stress fracturing (BSF) has been proposed to significantly reduce the horizontal stress difference. This study indicates that the fracturing methods significantly impact the evolution of induced stress, and that ZF and SF can achieve a balanced stress field and the utilization of an inter-well reservoir through a reasonable fracture distribution mode and fracturing operation. Combined with the interlaced fracture distribution mode, interactive fracturing, and overall front parallel fracturing, BSF can improve the fracture network complexity (FNC) and reduce the risk of casing deformation. Moreover, BSF helps achieve higher production and a more uniform stress field in platform well fracturing. This study presents an effective measure to increase FNC and reduce the occurrence of casing deformation during UOG development.

Unconventional Oil and Gas Development Exposure and Risk of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Case-Control Study in Pennsylvania, 2009-2017.

Background:Unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) releases chemicals that have been linked to cancer and childhood leukemia. Studies of UOGD exposure and childhood leukemia are extremely limited.Objective:The objective of this study was to evaluate potential associations between residential proximity to UOGD and risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood leukemia, in a large regional sample using UOGD-specific metrics, including a novel metric to represent the water pathway.Methods:We conducted a registry-based case–control study of 405 children ages 2–7 y diagnosed with ALL in Pennsylvania between 2009–2017, and 2,080 controls matched on birth year. We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between residential proximity to UOGD (including a new water pathway-specific proximity metric) and ALL in two exposure windows: a primary window (3 months preconception to 1 y prior to diagnosis/reference date) and a perinatal window (preconception to birth).Results:Children with at least one UOG well within of their birth residence during the primary window had 1.98 times the odds of developing ALL in comparison with those with no UOG wells [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 3.69]. Children with at least one vs. no UOG wells within during the perinatal window had 2.80 times the odds of developing ALL (95% CI: 1.11, 7.05). These relationships were slightly attenuated after adjusting for maternal race and socio-economic status [odds ratio (OR) (95% CI: 0.93, 3.27) and (95% CI: 0.93, 5.95)], respectively). The ORs produced by models using the water pathway-specific metric were similar in magnitude to the aggregate metric.Discussion:Our study including a novel UOGD metric found UOGD to be a risk factor for childhood ALL. This work adds to mounting evidence of UOGD’s impacts on children’s health, providing additional support for limiting UOGD near residences. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11092

Geochemical Evidence of Potential Groundwater Contamination with Human Health Risks Where Hydraulic Fracturing Overlaps with Extensive Legacy Hydrocarbon Extraction.

Unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) sometimes impacts water resources, including incidents of methane (CH4) migration from compromised wells and spills that degrade water with salts, organics, and metals. We hypothesized that contamination may be more common where UOGD overlaps with legacy coal, oil, and gas extraction. We tested this hypothesis on ∼7000 groundwater analyses from the largest U.S. shale gas play (Marcellus), using data mining techniques to explore UOGD contamination frequency. Corroborating the hypothesis, we discovered small, statistically significant regional correlations between groundwater chloride concentrations ([Cl]) and UOGD proximity and density where legacy extraction was extremely dense (southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA)) but no such correlations where it was minimal (northeastern Pennsylvania). On the other hand, legacy extraction of shallow gas in SWPA may have lessened today's gas leakage, as no regional correlation was detected for [CH4] in SWPA. We identify hotspots where [Cl] and [CH4] increase by 3.6 and 3.0 mg/L, respectively, per UOG well drilled in SWPA. If the [Cl] correlations document contamination via brines leaked from wellbores, impoundments, or spills, we calculate that thallium concentrations could exceed EPA limits in the most densely developed hotspots, thus posing a potential human health risk.

Energy production and well site disturbance from conventional and unconventional natural gas development in West Virginia.

Natural gas production from the Appalachian region has reached record levels, primarily due to the rapid increase in development of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) resources. In 2020, over 65,000 conventional wells reported natural gas production; however, this only represented 5% of the total natural gas produced. The remaining 95% of natural gas production can be attributed to 3,901 UOG wells. There has been a wide body of research on disturbance trends related to unconventional development in the region; however, there is limited characterization of disturbance related to production of conventional oil and gas (COG) or research that details energy production in relation to land disturbance. This study compares land disturbance from COG and UOG development as well as energy production. Land disturbance related to COG and UOG development was assessed for wells drilled during 2009–2012. Production data were summarized for the same wells during the period of 2009–2020. The average area disturbed for COG pads was 0.82 ha while UOG pads disturbed 4.02 ha. Results from this study showed that COG wells disturbed significantly less land area during construction; however, UOG wells produced almost 28 times more energy per hectare of land disturbed. This energy production imbalance as well as the over 65,000 COG wells reporting production in 2020, indicates that the retirement and restoration of COG infrastructure could be done without significantly impacting total energy production. Continued research that includes ecosystem services and carbon sequestration opportunities in relation to production losses from retiring existing infrastructure should be considered.Graphical abstract

Neither prepared nor transformed: Institutional responses to unconventional oil and gas development in Australian and Canadian communities

Resource dependent regions in Australia, Canada, and in other industrialized areas have experienced rapid change due to forces of both political and economic restructuring over the past three decades. Policy and program responses by senior levels of government to these accelerating processes of change have too often only exacerbated the negative impacts of major resource exploitation. As a result, rural and small-town places dependent upon primary industries and natural resource sectors continue to struggle to find traction in a new economy marked by the vagaries of demographic, economic, social, cultural, political, and environmental change. In this paper, we explore these resource economy and institutional dynamics within the context of unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD). Our comparative case context includes the Surat Basin in eastern Australia and the Peace River region in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. Both regions have significant recent experience with UOGD. The paper draws upon staples theory and evolutionary economic geography to frame the dynamics of truncated development patterns and the prospects for path variation. Despite the well-known negative impacts and disruptions associated with major resource projects, we make three inter-related arguments challenging the efficacy of senior government responses to the community and regional impacts of UOGD. These are that senior governments: 1) react too slowly in their mitigation responses; 2) are generally dragged into action by local opposition to construct institutional and redistributive funding measures to compensate for local disruption, that; 3) ultimately fall short in terms of offering any kind of strategic, post-resource boom transformational potential to restore or redirect the economic future of resource regions.

Groundwater Methane in Northeastern Pennsylvania Attributable to Thermogenic Sources and Hydrogeomorphologic Migration Pathways.

Conflicting evidence exists as to whether or not unconventional oil and gas (UOG) development has enhanced methane transport into groundwater aquifers over the past 15 years. In this study, recent groundwater samples were collected from 90 domestic wells and 4 springs in Northeastern Pennsylvania located above the Marcellus Shale after more than a decade of UOG development. No statistically significant correlations were observed between the groundwater methane level and various UOG geospatial metrics, including proximity to UOG wells and well violations, as well as the number of UOG wells and violations within particular radii. The δ13C and methane-to-higher chain hydrocarbon signatures suggested that the elevated methane levels were not attributable to UOG development nor could they be explained by using simple biogenic-thermogenic end-member mixing models. Instead, groundwater methane levels were significantly correlated with geochemical water type and topographical location. Comparing a subset of contemporary methane measurements to their co-located pre-drilling records (n = 64 at 49 distinct locations) did not indicate systematic increases in methane concentration but did reveal several cases of elevated concentration (n = 12) across a spectrum of topographies. Multiple lines of evidence suggested that the high-concentration groundwater methane could have originated from shallow thermogenic methane that migrated upward into groundwater aquifers with Appalachian Basin brine.

Exposure to Unconventional Oil and Gas Development and All-cause Mortality in Medicare Beneficiaries

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Wide-scale adoption of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development (UOGD) has changed the domestic and global energy landscape. However, little is known about whether and how UOGD impact all-cause mortality. METHODS: We used an open cohort design and Cox Proportional Hazard model to estimate the relative risk of mortality associated with living proximity and downwind to UOGD. The study region of this population-based research includes all counties within major UOGD production areas in the conterminous United States. We studied 15,198,496 Medicare beneficiaries (N=136,215,059 person-years) in the study region from 2001 to 2015. We obtained records for more than 2.5 million oil and gas wells from Enverus™. For each person-year, we calculated proximity-based exposure (PE) to UOGD and categorized PE into four levels from high to low. To isolate the impact contributed by UOGD-related air pollutants, we calculated the proportion of PE contributed by upwind wells, defined as downwind exposure (DE) to UOGD. Each PE level was dichotomized into downwind and upwind sub-levels (DE+ and DE-) accordingly. Due to the independence of wind direction on potential confounders, the estimated associations are less vulnerable to unobserved confounding bias. RESULTS:High PE level was associated with a statistically significant increase in mortality risk compared to the unexposed group (hazard ratio [HR], 1.025; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.021 to 1.029). Within high PE, the HR associated with DE+ is 1.031 (95% CI 1.025 to 1.037), significantly higher than that associated with DE- (HR 1.022, 95% CI, 1.016 to 1.027), when both are compared to the same unexposed group. CONCLUSIONS:Exposure to UOGD, characterized by PE and DE, is statistically significantly associated with an increased mortality risk in Medicare beneficiaries. The wind-dependent difference in the health effects indicates that air pollution sourced from UOGD is one of the exposure pathways. KEYWORDS: Long-term exposure, Mixtures, Multi-pollutant/Multi-media, Mortality.

An analysis of the impact of unconventional oil and gas activities on public health: New evidence across Oklahoma counties

The expansion of unconventional oil and gas development (UNGD) in the US has been highly controversial so far with no consensus on its health, economic, environmental, and social implications. This paper examines the effects of UNGD on the health profile of the population in the context of Oklahoma using a unique data set. To this end, the analysis assembles a panel data set including 76 counties of Oklahoma, spanning the period 1998–2017. The analysis estimates the long-run relationship between the health profile and its determinants using the Common Correlated Effects (CCE) method. The empirical setup allows for cross-sectional dependence and accounts for both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. The main findings provide strong evidence that UNGD activities have negative effects on human health-related outcomes across all counties in Oklahoma. Specifically, an increase in the number of (unconventional) wells has a positive impact on mortality rates, and incidences of cancer, cardiac, and respiratory diseases in communities in close spatial proximity, and a negative impact on life expectancy. These findings provide evidence that UNGD activities pose significant risks to the public health profile across the Oklahoma population. Such findings are expected to have substantial implications for the national debate on the regulation of UNGD.

Exploring controls on halogen and methane occurrence in groundwater of New York State

The expansion of unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) by means of horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing has been accompanied by concerns regarding the potential impacts to water resources and public health. The ban on UOGD in New York State (NYS) allows the natural processes that control groundwater chemistry and dissolved methane to be evaluated without complications that could arise in regions impacted by prior unconventional shale gas development. We evaluated the controls on the occurrence and spatial variability of methane, chloride, bromine, and iodine, covering much of NYS and encompassing a range of underlying bedrock geologies. Groundwater samples were collected from 108 domestic and public supply wells. Methane concentrations in groundwater ranged from <0.001–84.6 mg/L. The variables most consistently associated with methane occurrence in groundwater included: 1) bedrock geology penetrated by wells, 2) groundwater chemical composition, and 3) confinement characterization of the well. The geochemical parameters iodine, chloride, and sodium/calcium suggested that elevated concentrations of methane were likely associated with deep brines. Elevated methane concentrations were frequently accompanied by both high bromine and iodine concentrations in this study, indicating that the potential of halogens as tracers for dissolved methane needs to be further investigated.

Petro-riskscapes and environmental distress in West Texas: Community perceptions of environmental degradation, threats, and loss

Unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) expanded rapidly in the United States between 2004 and 2019 with resultant industrial change to landscapes and new environmental exposures. By 2019, West Texas’ Permian Basin accounted for 35% of domestic oil production. We conducted an online survey of 566 Texans in 2019 to examine the implications of UOGD using three measures from the Environmental Distress Scale (EDS): perceived threat of environmental issues, felt impact of environmental change, and loss of solace when valued environments are transformed (“solastalgia”). We found increased levels of environmental distress among respondents living in counties in the Permian Basin who reported a 2.75% increase in perceived threat of environmental issues (95% CI = −1.14, 6.65) and a 4.21% increase in solastalgia (95% CI = 0.03, 8.40). In our subgroup analysis of women, we found higher EDS subscale scores among respondents in Permian Basin counties for perceived threat of environmental issues (4.08%, 95% CI = −0.12, 8.37) and solastalgia (7.09%, 95% CI = 2.44, 11.88). In analysis restricted to Permian Basin counties, we found exposure to at least one earthquake of magnitude ≥ 3 was associated with increases in perceived threat of environmental issues (4.69%, 95% CI = 0.15, 9.23), and that county-level exposure to oil and gas injection wells was associated with increases in felt impact (4.38%, 95% CI = −1.77, 10.54) and solastalgia (4.06%, 95% CI = 3.02, 11.14). Our results indicate increased environmental distress in response to UOGD-related environmental degradation among Texans and highlight the importance of considering susceptible sub-groups.

Potential for Reclamation of Abandoned Gas Wells to Restore Ecosystem Services in the Fayetteville Shale of Arkansas.

Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) drilling has expanded rapidly across the United States, including in the Fayetteville Shale formation in north-central Arkansas where drilling began in 2004. As one of the oldest regions of UOG activity in the United States, this area has experienced significant land-use changes, specifically development of natural habitat and agricultural land for gas infrastructure. In recent years, drilling of new wells has stopped and production has declined. By 2017, 1038 wells had ceased production and been abandoned, which makes them eligible for land reclamation. However, most of these sites (80%) have not been reclaimed and continue to cause losses in ecosystem services. If reclamation was performed on lands associated with abandoned infrastructure, we estimate more than $2 million USD annually in agricultural, timber, and carbon sequestration values would be gained. These benefits far outweigh the costs of reclamation, especially since the benefits accrue over time and reclamation is a short-term cost. Our estimates indicate a 2-4 year break-even time period when cumulative ecosystem services benefits will outweigh reclamation costs. We predicted a well-abandonment rate of 155 per year until 2050 when 98% of wells will be abandoned, which indicates great potential for future ecosystem services restoration. Thus, we recommend that Arkansans at the government and citizen level work to restore lands impacted by UOG development in the Fayetteville Shale region so that their value to landowners and society can be recovered, which will enhance long-term economic and environmental benefits.

In Our Backyard: Perceptions About Fracking, Science, and Health by Community Members

Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction (fracking) has increased in the United States, as well as interest in the associated risks and benefits. This study’s purpose was to qualitatively examine residents’ perceptions about UOG development in their community. Fifteen interviewees involving residents of Garfield County, Colorado, a drilling-dense region, were transcribed and analyzed. The study found six themes: (1) health concerns, both human and animal, (2) power struggles between government and industry/between industry and residents, and (3) perception and some acceptance of increased risk. Less common themes were (4) reliance on science to accurately determine risk, (5) frustration with potential threat and loss of power, and (6) traffic and safety concerns. Community perceptions of UOG development are complex, and understanding the position of community members can support the need for additional public health research and impact assessments regarding community exposures from UOG drilling operation exposures.