Title

Marcellus Shale Development, Air Pollution, and Asthma Exacerbations

Start Date

21-11-2014 8:00 PM

End Date

21-11-2014 10:00 PM

Description

Unconventional natural gas development (UNGD), the extraction of natural gas from shale, has rapidly grown in Pennsylvania since 2005. Shale gas extraction is a major industrial undertaking with the potential to affect air, water, and soil. Much of the concern over UNGD has centered on water, but air pollution may be of greater concern. There has been little research on the health concerns of the potential air impacts of UNGD. We are engaged in a study to evaluate associations between UNGD and asthma exacerbations. We began by creating a complete database of wells. Starting with data on well location; dates of drilling, perforation, and stimulation; well depth, and production from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), we filled in missing data using the Pennsylvania Internet Record Im aging System/Wells Information System, and then imputed values that were still missing. Our final population includes 6,915 drilled wells by June 2013. Using remote sensing and crowdsourcing technologies, we collected the dates of well flaring and locations of ponds associated with UNGD. Information on compressor stations, which data suggest are an important source of UNGD-related air emissions, is not currently electronically available. We started with a list of compressor stations related to UNGD from DEP (nP6) and made a total of 17 visits to 4 DEP offices, scanning 6,007 documents. These documents were data abstracted into an electronic database. The source of our health data is the Geisinger Health System, which has used electronic health records (EHR) since 2001. These records include information on diagnoses, vital signs, medications, procedures, laboratory tests, tobacco use, and sociodemographics. Using EHR data, we identified 38,646 asthma patients in Pennsylvania and New York. Between 2005 and 2013, we identified the following asthma exacerbations: 446 primary asthma hospitalizations, 4,833 primary or secondary asthma hospitalizations, 1,896 asthma emergency department visits, and 30,516 new oral corticosteroid medication orders. We are assigning patients exposure estimates based on the different phases of UNGD, ponds, and compressor stations. We are using a nested case-control study design to evaluate associations between exposure to UNGD and asthma exacerbations in this cohort of patients.

Type

Poster

Session

Poster Presentations

Language

eng

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Nov 21st, 8:00 PM Nov 21st, 10:00 PM

Marcellus Shale Development, Air Pollution, and Asthma Exacerbations

Elaine Langone Center, Terrace Room

Unconventional natural gas development (UNGD), the extraction of natural gas from shale, has rapidly grown in Pennsylvania since 2005. Shale gas extraction is a major industrial undertaking with the potential to affect air, water, and soil. Much of the concern over UNGD has centered on water, but air pollution may be of greater concern. There has been little research on the health concerns of the potential air impacts of UNGD. We are engaged in a study to evaluate associations between UNGD and asthma exacerbations. We began by creating a complete database of wells. Starting with data on well location; dates of drilling, perforation, and stimulation; well depth, and production from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), we filled in missing data using the Pennsylvania Internet Record Im aging System/Wells Information System, and then imputed values that were still missing. Our final population includes 6,915 drilled wells by June 2013. Using remote sensing and crowdsourcing technologies, we collected the dates of well flaring and locations of ponds associated with UNGD. Information on compressor stations, which data suggest are an important source of UNGD-related air emissions, is not currently electronically available. We started with a list of compressor stations related to UNGD from DEP (nP6) and made a total of 17 visits to 4 DEP offices, scanning 6,007 documents. These documents were data abstracted into an electronic database. The source of our health data is the Geisinger Health System, which has used electronic health records (EHR) since 2001. These records include information on diagnoses, vital signs, medications, procedures, laboratory tests, tobacco use, and sociodemographics. Using EHR data, we identified 38,646 asthma patients in Pennsylvania and New York. Between 2005 and 2013, we identified the following asthma exacerbations: 446 primary asthma hospitalizations, 4,833 primary or secondary asthma hospitalizations, 1,896 asthma emergency department visits, and 30,516 new oral corticosteroid medication orders. We are assigning patients exposure estimates based on the different phases of UNGD, ponds, and compressor stations. We are using a nested case-control study design to evaluate associations between exposure to UNGD and asthma exacerbations in this cohort of patients.