HEI Energy Research Committee Anna Rosofsky Lee Ann Adelsheim

This report reviews the epidemiology research that assesses whether exposure to unconventional oil and natural gas development (UOGD) might lead to adverse health effects.

HEI Special Scientific Committee on Unconventional Oil and Gas Development in the Appalachian Basin

Unconventional oil and natural gas development is a driving force behind significant economic and energy policy shifts in the United States and the world today. Technological advances in development are substantially increasing energy supplies, while at the same time outpacing the scientific research that can answer questions about the development’s potential effects.

HEI Energy Research Committee

Communication 1 surveys the literature about environmental exposures associated with unconventional oil and natural gas development (UOGD). The Energy Research Committee conducted the survey as part of a larger effort to understand the current state of the science on UOGD exposures and their potential health effects.

Ayusha Ariana Anna Rosofsky Cloelle Danforth Donna Vorhees

This Research Brief summarizes literature about the potential for communities to be exposed to produced water from oil and natural gas development. These exposures might arise from permitted, accidental, or unauthorized releases of produced water within or outside of the oil field. This Brief will help to inform HEI Energy’s strategic research planning for 2025–2030. It is part of a series of Research Briefs summarizing literature about potential exposures and health effects associated with unconventional oil and gas development.

Elise Elliott Anna Rosofsky Lee Ann Adelsheim

This Research Brief summarizes literature about the potential for releases to the environment and human exposures associated with abandoned and orphaned wells in the United States. Conventional oil and gas wells currently dominate the U.S. inventory of inactive wells and are the primary subject of the literature reviewed here, although more UOGD wells will become inactive over time. It is part of a series of Research Briefs summarizing literature about potential exposures and health effects associated with UOGD.

Lee Ann Adelsheim

This Research Brief summarizes literature characterizing emissions from natural gas flaring, quantifying human exposures to flaring, and assessing potential inequalities in exposure to flaring. It is part of a series of Research Briefs summarizing literature about potential exposures and health effects associated with UOGD.

Lee Ann Adelsheim

This Research Brief describes the FracFocus database, a public national registry for reporting the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluid. The Brief summarizes published reviews of the database, supplements these reviews with an updated description of data posted to FracFocus, and offers ideas for how the FracFocus database might be useful for research about potential human exposures associated with UOGD. It is part of a series of Research Briefs summarizing literature about potential exposures and health effects associated with UOGD.

Lee Ann Adelsheim Anna Rosofsky

This Research Brief provides a summary of the UOGD epidemiology studies published since the HEI Energy Research Committee conducted its systematic review of this literature. It provides information on study methods and the exposures, health outcomes, and regions that have been studied. This document is not a systematic review of the literature; instead, it provides a general update on the UOGD analytical epidemiology literature. It is part of a series of Research Briefs summarizing literature about potential exposures and health effects associated with UOGD.

 

Donna Vorhees Anna Rosofsky

 

Rosofsky AS, Vorhees DJ. 2023. Bringing Multisectoral and Multidisciplinary Stakeholders Together to Optimize Environmental Health Research. GeoHealth 7:e2022GH000746; doi:10.1029/2022GH000746.

Mary Kang Jade Boutot Renee C McVay Katherine A Roberts Scott Jasechko Debra Perrone Tao Wen Greg Lackey Daniel Raimi Dominic C Digiulio Seth B C Shonkoff J William Carey Elise Elliott Donna Vorhees Adam S Peltz

Kang M, Boutot J, McVay RC, Roberts KA, Jasechko S, Perrone D, et al. 2023. Environmental risks and opportunities of orphaned oil and gas wells in the United States. Environ Res Lett 18:074012; doi:10.1088/1748-9326/acdae7.