Measuring health impacts from oil and natural gas extraction

An examination of peer-reviewed studies published over six years on hazardous air pollutants associated with the extraction of oil and natural gas finds that measurements of hazardous air pollutant concentrations near operational sites have generally failed to capture levels above standard health benchmarks; yet, the majority of studies continue to find poor health outcomes increasing as distance from these operations decreases.

While it is unclear why there is a gap in the evidence between environmental sampling and health-based studies, the current review provides insights into methodological shortcomings that may help explain this discrepancy. Authors state that current health benchmarks may not provide accurate risk estimates from the broad range of pollutants associated with oil and natural gas development, and fail to adequately address potential risks associated with long-term, chronic, lower levels of exposure or from a mixture of chemicals. Further, a failure of sampling methods to properly account for degradation and dispersion of pollutants, or inappropriate sampling timeframes that may not capture peak emission periods that are characteristic of oil and natural gas extraction, may also contribute to the current gap in the literature.

Source: Current methods may inadequately measure health impacts from oil, natural gas extraction