Gap in Understanding Shale Oil and Gas Production Effects on Public Health and Environment

Scientists have long expressed concern about how a lack of data and access to drilling sites prevents a complete scientific assessment of how hydraulic fracturing and oil and gas production affect the climate, environment and public health.

A new University of Texas-Austin analysis of natural gas drilling and fracking in urban areas near Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, not only criticizes state and federal regulatory agencies for dismissing public concern about the health and environmental impacts of shale oil and gas development, but illuminates the large gap in understanding about what shale oil and gas production mean for public health and the environment in Texas and beyond.

The gap in scientists' understanding of what shale oil and gas development means for the environment and human health is significant, said Susan Brantley, a Pennsylvania State University biogeochemist studying the impacts of shale gas development in Pennsylvania. Brantley, unaffiliated with the UT-Austin study, is among the scientists who have spoken out about the fracking data gap. 

"A few health studies have been initiated, but data are few and far between that allow scientists to interpret potential impacts," Brantley said via email.  "In addition, the lack of federal oversight on a lot of activity which is controlled by the states makes for difficulties for scientists to evaluate or even get hold of needed data.  In Pennsylvania, it is even difficult to determine exactly where spills have occurred, let alone the volume of the spill, the timing or the chemicals that were spilled."

Emissions and other byproducts of hydrocarbon combustion at Fort Worth-area drilling sites are suspected to affect not only the climate but also the health of those living near oil and gas production sites, according to the UT-Austin analysis

Gap in Understanding Shale Oil and Gas Production Effects on Public Health and Environment