Trevor M. Penning, Ph.D.

Director Center of Excellence in Environmental

Toxicology
Perelman School of Medicine
penning@upenn.edu
www.med.upenn.edu/ceet
Hydrofracking:
Public Health Issues and
Impacts

2
What is the Marcellus Shale?
Half the land mass of Pennsylvania

22,835 sq miles

84 trillion cubic ft of natural gas

Price is $4 - $14 per cubic ft

Enough for the entire US population
for 4 yrs

Shale sedimentary rock

Organic rich and porous

Contains thermogenic methane

3
The Drill Rig
Drill head and pad 5-10 acre plot

Ideally one per sq mile

Saturating drilling 8 per square mile

High density drilling in Susquehanna
Co, PA

Pennsylvania would need 22,000 to
160,000 drill rigs

In April 2012 > 12,000 permits


4
Permit Sites in PA April 2012
(produced with Harvard World Maps)
5
The Fracking Process
6
The Holding Ponds for Flow-Back Water
Need 5M gallons water per well head

Each truck carries 3,000 gallons water

1667 truck loads

Proppant: 1.5 M pounds (silica/sand)

Requires 750 truck loads

X1 to x10 frack episodes per well

<30% in the flow back water held in pits


7
Trucking
Diesel Trucks Deliver:

Drill-Rigs

Proppant

Fracking chemicals

Compressor parts

Gas line piping

Diesel Trucks Remove:

Natural gas

Waste water

8
Night-Time Flaring
Well is tested by flaring

Release of methane: BETEX
(benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene,
and xylene)

Move towards marketing wet-gas
a larger portion of methane is burned

Release of hydrogen sulfide
9
Processing and Transport
Dehydration and condensation to
remove water and VOCs

Liquefy hydrocarbon by-products
(propane and butane)

Compressor stations to pressurize
natural gas for pipe-lines

High-pressure gas lines navigate
PA countryside

Welding exempt from safety
regulations in rural areas

Pipes join national grid


10
Additive Types in Fracking Fluid
Arthur et al., (2008) Hydraulic Fracturing Considerations for Natural gas
11
Potential for Water Pollution-Fracking Fluid
0.49% of fracking fluid contains a
mixture of chemicals

Composition is a trade-secret

Some chemicals listed by class and
not by CAS registry number

95 tons of chemicals are used
per well base

Classes of chemicals used include:
-BETEX
-Substituted benzenes
-Ethylene glycol
-Petroleum distillate
-Silica
-Sodium and potassium salts
-Ammonium salts
(Source DEP-PA)

12
Possible Health Effects of Chemicals with CAS Registry
Solubles (n=206) Volatiles (n =126)
Colborn et al., Human & Ecolog Risk Assess. 2011; 17, 1039
13
Potential for Water Pollution- Flow-Back Fluid
MCL = maximum contaminant level ppm
14
Potential for Water Pollution- Flow-Back Fluid
15
Potential for Air Pollution VOCs and PM 2.5
Photochemistry between VOCs and nitrogen oxides generate
ground level ozone

Ground level ozone exacerbates underlying asthma and COPD
and causes lung injury

PM2.5 when inhaled lodge in the deep lung (bronchioles and alveoli)

PM2.5 carbonaecous core adsorbs PAH, nitro-PAH and heavy metals

PM2.5 invoke an inflammatory response and contain probable
lung carcinogens (IARC)
16
Occupational Exposures -1
NIOSH Concerned about safety of workers
Eleven states and five sites visited
>150 different occupations involved
Hydrogen sulfide exposure at the well-head
Movement of sand for proppant and silicosis
(Courtesy of Esswein-NIOSH)
17
Occupational Exposures-2
Unfettered access to fracking chemicals
Exposure to VOCs in flow-back pits
Exposure to diesel exhaust during all activities
(Courtesy of Esswein-NIOSH)
18
Animal Sentinels
Survey of production and companion animal
effects in CO, LA, NY, OH, PA and TX

Eighteen hydraulically fractured wells

Documented 17 different events across species:
ovine, equine, poultry, canine, feline and fish species

Health effects were across multiple organ systems:
sudden death, reproductive, neurologic, musculoskeletal,
GI, dematologic

Association between exposure to contaminated water-
multiple source

(Source Bamberger and Oswald, New Solutions 22: 51, 2012)
19
What does the science tell us?
CASE 1:
-7 residential wells In Leroy Township, Bradford Co
-affected by Cheaspeake natural gas drilling

ATSDR found:
- well 2 had 30 ug/L Arsenic
- wells 2-7 elevated Na but not Ba, Ca, Mn, and K
- bottled water given to residents using wells 2-4

CASE 2:
-11 homes in Dimock, Susquehanna Co PA
-Houston Cabot and Gas contaminated aquifer

EPA found (03-15-12):
-6/11 homes elevated Na, CH
4
, Cr
-2/11 homes elevated As

-Levels do not present a health hazard
20
Methane in Drinking Water Comes From Natural Gas Drilling
51/60 drinking wells tested + ive (Osborn et al., PNAS 2011, 108: 8172)
21
Air Pollution Studies from Barnett Shale
Emission Sources in Barnett Shale -2009
NOx and VOC 5 Counties Natural Gas Drilling
- 96 - 212 tons per day : Compressor engines exhaust and tanks
- 191- 307 tons per day: Oil and gas sources
- 165 tons per day : Oil and gas production
- 121 tons per day: on road vehicle emissions

NOx and VOC Inventories in Dallas-Forth Worth Metropolitan Area
-16 tons per day from airport
-273 tons per day on road vehicle emissions

Greenhouse gas (CO
2
and Methane)
-33,000 tons per day of CO
2
equivalent = two 750 MW coal-fired power plants
- compressor stations and fugitive methane

Benzene and Formaldehyde from Barnett Shale
- 6- 7 tons per day





( source, Environmental Defense Fund, 2009)
22
Public Health Concerns
Hazard x Exposure = Health Risk



Slick-water
Fracking chemicals
Contaminants in flow
back water
VOCs and ozone
CH
4
and hydrocarbons
Diesel exhaust and
PM2.5
Water pollution
Migration
Aquifers
Well water
Surface water
Air pollution
Drill head proximity
Compressor stations
Transportation
Occupational
Vulnerable populations: children, pregnant women
x
23
What research needs to be done?
External Dose:
air and water quality longitudinal sampling-GIS tools (lack of base line data)
identify exposures for biomonitoring

Internal Dose:
biomarkers of exposure: (VOCs/PM2.5/heavy metals/other contaminants)
reliable LOC for all chemical contaminants (RfD)
biomarkers of effect: (intermediate disease biomarkers)

Epidemiological Study Longitudinal (> 5 yrs):
will require CBPR approach
base line health assessment
use of personalized air monitors/biosensors (external dose)
serum and urine/biofluids for biomarkers (internal dose)
each person their own control

Mechanistic Toxicology
components of fracking fluids and flow back water
complex mixture problem
HTS in vitro assays for triage to animal testing
24
What research needs to be done?
Community Outreach and Dissemination
affected communities
landowners and leasers
municipalities and townships
local, state and federal legislators and agencies
gas and drilling companies

Health Effects and Outcomes Research
public health professionals
occupational and environmental health physicians
stress of rapid industrialization
increase in substance abuse and crime
noise and sleep deprivation
monitor disease registries

Health Services Research
increase in hospital and mental health services
increase in accidents and injury
use of emergency medical services
are the sources adequate
25
State of Affairs in Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Corbett (R) elected Jan 2011
-refuses to invoke an impact fee on gas-drillers

PA-DEP Secretary Krancer places moratorium on waste water tmt
after US EPA Region III intervenes-May 2011

Delaware Basin Water Commission postpones decision on
hydrofracking indefinitely-November 21, 2011

SB1100/HB-1950-Act 13: Impact fee introduced
-state takes back zoning authority from townships and municipalities
-imposes CDA for health care professionals to treat patients

State has primacy for water safety under SDWA and CWA
-Hailburton exemption makes flow-back water exempt from SDWA

Tom Corbett: I will direct the DEP to return to its core mission
of protecting the environment based on sound science

26
Need for inter-EHSCC Consortia
Potential
Health Hazard
Large
Population
Environmental
Scientists
Mechanistic Toxicology
Exposure Science
Translation- Environmental Law
Translation-
Public Health Policy
Translation-
Targeted Communities
Community Based
Participatory Research
Epidemiology &
Biostatistics
Public Health
Professionals
& Clinicians
Veterinary
Medicine
Animal Sentinels
Requires: $$$
Consortia of best talent-inter EHSCC
27
EHSCC Hydrofracking Working Group
Joseph Beckman Oregon State University
Cornelius (Kees) Elferink- UTMB
Tom Gasiewicz- University of Rochester
John Groopman- Johns Hopkins University
David Johnson MD Anderson
Trevor Penning University of Pennsylvania
Regina Santella Columbia
Peter Thorne U. Iowa
James Swenberg UNC
Helmut Zarbl - Rutgers

28
Latest Developments

Institute of Medicine April 30-May 1, 2012
The Health Impact Assessment of New Energy Sources:
Shale Gas Extraction

http://iom.edu/Activities/Environment/EnvironmentalHealthRT/2012-APR-30.aspx

Frac Act Senators: Bob Casey (D-PA) and Chuck Schumer
(D-NY)

April 17
th
Executive Order 13605-President Obama
Supporting Safe and Responsible Development of
Unconventional Domestic Natural Gas Resources
Federal Register page and date: 77 FR 23107, April 17, 2012

April 17
th
, new EPA regulations to curtail emissions by 2015


29
The Precautionary Principle
The precautionary principle states that
if an action or policy has a suspected
risk of causing harm to the public or to
the environment, in the absence of
scientific consensus that the action or
policy is harmful, the burden of proof
that it is not harmful falls on those
taking the action.