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Cumulative Human Health Risk Assessment of Regional Ozone and Volatile Organic Compounds from Unconventional Oil and Gas Sites in Colorado's Front Range.

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Title: Cumulative Human Health Risk Assessment of Regional Ozone and Volatile Organic Compounds from Unconventional Oil and Gas Sites in Colorado's Front Range.
Authors: Weisner, Meagan L.1 mweisner@edf.org, Varner, Paige M.2, I-Ting Ku3, Collett Jr., Jeffrey L.3, Buck, Brent4, McKenzie, Lisa M.5
Source: Environmental Health Perspectives. May2025, Vol. 133 Issue 5, p057025-1-057025-15. 15p.
Subject Terms: *Air pollution, *Environmental health, *Petroleum, *Environmental monitoring, *Environmental exposure, *Ozone, *Carcinogens, *Organic compounds, *Mineral industries, *Hazardous substances, *Gases, Tumor risk factors, Risk assessment, Repeated measures design, Data analysis, Health status indicators, Probability theory, Descriptive statistics, Communities, Fats & oils, Analysis of variance, Statistics, Comparative studies
Geographic Terms: Colorado
Company/Entity: United States. Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Most unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction in Colorado occurs within the Denver Metro/North Front Range (DMNFR) ozone Nonattainment Area (NAA). Previous UOG human health risk assessments do not consider cumulative risk from both volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and criteria air pollutants like ozone. METHODS: We conducted a cumulative human health risk assessment (CHHRA) using regulatory-grade 1- and 8-h ozone measurements from a DMNFR US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) monitoring station and weekly and short-term (15 s–1 min) VOC air quality monitoring data collected between 2018–2023 from 10 near-pad air monitoring sites, three community sites, and one background site. Acute and chronic noncancer hazard indices (HIs) for multiple health end points, as well as cancer risks, were calculated during well drilling, well completions, and production activity periods and compared between sites. VOC concentrations were compared between operations that used a petroleum-based drilling fluid vs. a synthetic drill fluid. Differences in weekly chemical concentrations between sites, UOG phases, and drill muds were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance with post hoc pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni adjustment. RESULTS: Acute HIs of VOCs and ozone ranged from 1.34 × 10-4 to 31.33 at the 95th percentile concentrations at all sites. One of the three community monitoring sites, Anthem, exceeded US EPA thresholds for respiratory, immunological, and developmental end points during production and for the immunological end point during well completions. At the near-pad sites, acute hazards exceeded US EPA thresholds during well completions for immunological, respiratory, reproductive, developmental, and neurological end points. Neurological and immunological HIs were above thresholds for the drilling phase at near-pad sites. Chronic HIs ranged from 8.43 × 10-4 to 0.47 at 95th percentile concentrations and, therefore, were below the HI threshold for all near-pad and community sites for all health end points. Cancer risks ranging from 209 to 335 in a million at 95th percentile concentrations were above US EPA thresholds for all sites, including the background site, which is more heavily influenced by Denver Metro traffic emissions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that for communities located near UOG well pads in the DMNFR ozone NAA, acute health risks persist after the implementation of best management practices to reduce emissions. Greater protection to public health could be afforded by establishing policies that require drilling and well completions to be conducted outside the summer ozone season. Further research is needed to address potential health risks from the use of synthetic drilling fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Environmental Health Perspectives is the property of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Cumulative Human Health Risk Assessment of Regional Ozone and Volatile Organic Compounds from Unconventional Oil and Gas Sites in Colorado's Front Range.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Environmental+Health+Perspectives%22">Environmental Health Perspectives</searchLink>. May2025, Vol. 133 Issue 5, p057025-1-057025-15. 15p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%2E+Environmental+Protection+Agency%22">United States. Environmental Protection Agency</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: BACKGROUND: Most unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction in Colorado occurs within the Denver Metro/North Front Range (DMNFR) ozone Nonattainment Area (NAA). Previous UOG human health risk assessments do not consider cumulative risk from both volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and criteria air pollutants like ozone. METHODS: We conducted a cumulative human health risk assessment (CHHRA) using regulatory-grade 1- and 8-h ozone measurements from a DMNFR US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) monitoring station and weekly and short-term (15 s–1 min) VOC air quality monitoring data collected between 2018–2023 from 10 near-pad air monitoring sites, three community sites, and one background site. Acute and chronic noncancer hazard indices (HIs) for multiple health end points, as well as cancer risks, were calculated during well drilling, well completions, and production activity periods and compared between sites. VOC concentrations were compared between operations that used a petroleum-based drilling fluid vs. a synthetic drill fluid. Differences in weekly chemical concentrations between sites, UOG phases, and drill muds were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance with post hoc pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni adjustment. RESULTS: Acute HIs of VOCs and ozone ranged from 1.34 × 10-4 to 31.33 at the 95th percentile concentrations at all sites. One of the three community monitoring sites, Anthem, exceeded US EPA thresholds for respiratory, immunological, and developmental end points during production and for the immunological end point during well completions. At the near-pad sites, acute hazards exceeded US EPA thresholds during well completions for immunological, respiratory, reproductive, developmental, and neurological end points. Neurological and immunological HIs were above thresholds for the drilling phase at near-pad sites. Chronic HIs ranged from 8.43 × 10-4 to 0.47 at 95th percentile concentrations and, therefore, were below the HI threshold for all near-pad and community sites for all health end points. Cancer risks ranging from 209 to 335 in a million at 95th percentile concentrations were above US EPA thresholds for all sites, including the background site, which is more heavily influenced by Denver Metro traffic emissions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that for communities located near UOG well pads in the DMNFR ozone NAA, acute health risks persist after the implementation of best management practices to reduce emissions. Greater protection to public health could be afforded by establishing policies that require drilling and well completions to be conducted outside the summer ozone season. Further research is needed to address potential health risks from the use of synthetic drilling fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Environmental Health Perspectives is the property of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1289/EHP16272
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 15
        StartPage: 057025-1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Air pollution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Environmental health
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Petroleum
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Environmental monitoring
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Environmental exposure
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ozone
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Carcinogens
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Organic compounds
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mineral industries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Hazardous substances
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Gases
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Tumor risk factors
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Risk assessment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Repeated measures design
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      – SubjectFull: Data analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Health status indicators
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      – SubjectFull: Probability theory
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Communities
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      – SubjectFull: Fats & oils
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      – SubjectFull: Comparative studies
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      – SubjectFull: Colorado
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: United States. Environmental Protection Agency
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Cumulative Human Health Risk Assessment of Regional Ozone and Volatile Organic Compounds from Unconventional Oil and Gas Sites in Colorado's Front Range.
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              Text: May2025
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