DEP finds no health threat from Marcellus air emissions

By David Falchek (TIMES-SHAMROCK WRITER)
Published: February 1, 2011

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A much-anticipated state Department of Environmental Protection study of air quality in the Marcellus Shale region found emissions from natural gas activity did not constitute a health threat.

While industry advocates embraced the report as offering a clean bill of health, others caution that the study is a snapshot in time of a still-fledgling industry.

"This short-term study ... shows no emission levels that would constitute a concern to the health of residents living near these operations," DEP Director of the Bureau of Air Quality Joyce Epps said in a statement. "This study provides us with good information as part of our ongoing effort to gauge the impact these operations have on our air quality, public health and the environment."

DEP studied air quality near Marcellus Shale operations in Susquehanna and Sullivan counties over four weeks. In Susquehanna County, samples were taken at a completed and productive Cabot Gesford well on Carter Road in Dimock Twp., Cabot's compressor stations near Springville, and Stone Energy's Loomis well site as it was being hydraulically fractured.

The agency also sampled at Sones Pond in the Loyalsock State Forest in Sullivan County.

One of the groups that raised concerns about the potential for the invisible threat of volatile organic compounds around Marcellus Shale sites was the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Healthy Environments and Communities.

Center director of operations Chuck Christen, Ph.D., said the DEP methodology was sound, but called the study a snapshot and a good first step in keeping track of air quality. He noted that other entities are conducting their own surveys, which over time will present a sharper picture of air quality in the Marcellus region.

"This is a snapshot - the results during a single a period in time," Christen said. "These studies have to be seen in the broader context of other studies being done. The industry is growing and expanding and these results are not necessarily tomorrow's results."

The report notes that the sampling effort was not meant to address potential cumulative impacts.

DEP's survey was conducted at various times from August through September downwind from sites in the evening, when the department received the most complaints from residents. The study focused on volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, including benzene, toluene and xylene, which are typically found in petroleum products. The department also sampled for other pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. Surveys detected the main constituents of natural gas - including methane, ethane, propane and butane - as well as low levels of compounds such as MTBE, carbon monoxide and methyl mercaptan.

Last year, a similar air quality study in Southwestern Pennsylvania reached the same conclusion.

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

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