Air Pollution & Gas Drilling

More than 50 pollutants are released during the oil and gas drilling processes. Sources of the pollution include “venting, dehydration, gas processing, compression, leaks from equipment (fugitive emissions), open-pit waste ponds, and land application of volatile wastes.” [i]

Volatile organic compounds from the natural gas drilling processes, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, etc., and fugitive natural gas (methane), mix with nitrogen oxides (from the exhaust of diesel-driven equipment), to form ground level ozone. The ozone, which can spread up to 200 miles from the site of gas production, can create air pollution similar to ozone pollution in large urban areas. [ii] Ozone can cause several health problems, including shortness of breath, chest pain when taking a deep breath, wheezing and coughing, and increased susceptibility to respiratory infections. Other affects include an increased risk of asthma attacks and possibly the increased risk of premature mortality.[iii]

High levels of air pollution have been seen in parts of the country where drilling already occurs. In 2002, in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana, oil and gas production operations released more than 430,000 tons of volatile organic compounds. That is the equivalent of 12.5 million cars driven 12,5000 miles.[i] In Garfield County, Colorado, which has 15 VOCs at high levels, gas operations are responsible for 95% of stationary VOC emissions and 77% of all human-caused VOC emissions. In Garfield County, oil and gas drilling has increased by 132 percent since 2004.[i]

In Boulder, Wyoming, (Sublette County), population 75, ozone levels surpassed the healthy level 11 times in the first three months of 2008. This may cost the industry and taxpayers millions to come into compliance with federal clean air laws. Sublette County is home to hundreds of gas wells. Although he has enjoyed the extra money brought in by the drilling, resident Craig Jensen misses the pre-drilling days of clear skies, little traffic and fewer people. Of the economic benefits he has seen, “"I'd give it up right now if all them rigs moved.” [iv]

Gas wells along, Pinedale, Wyoming, population 1,412, a town with no stoplights and a “booming natural gas industry”, account for 3% of American gas production. Five days in 2007 saw pollution levels similar to that of Los Angeles, for this rural town. A town with a strong outdoor recreation industry, residents were told to stay inside during days with high ozone levels.[v]

[i] Amy Mall with contributing authors Sharon Buccino and Jeremy Nichols , Air Pollution, Drilling Down, Protecting Western Communities from the Health and Environmental Effects of Oil and Gas Production, Natural Resources Defense Council, October 2007.

[ii] The Endocrine Disruption Network: “Chemicals in Natural Gas Production, Introduction” http://www.endocrinedisruption.com/chemicals.introduction.php, last accessed 5/05/09

[iii]Health Effects of Ozone and Particle Pollution, State of the Air, 2007, American Lung Association, http://lungaction.org/reports/sota07_heffects.html, last accessed 5/05/09

[iv] The Associated Press, Pollution in town rivals that of cities, May 8, 2008

[v] Hargreaves,Steve, Small Town, Big Changes, CNNMoney.com, October 20, 2008.