We are writing today as part of a follow up to our earlier piece on the Barnett Shale natural gas drilling and its potentially hazardous toxic emissions. Fort Worth has spent $1 million on an Air Quality Study tied to Barnett Shale natural gas drilling. The city has not received much information for this very costly sum so far. The lack of information is largely due to a lack of results in the study, commissioned in August and amended in December. The final report is due June 30, 2011.
A consultant team is just now gathering the last of hundreds of air samples from natural gas drilling and production sites in the area. The majority of samples have not been analyzed for pollutants.
So far, the testing team has determined that at least two local sites are emitting more hazardous pollutants than they should, and therefore, do not meet the requirements of their state air quality permits. These findings have been reported to both the state and federal agencies dealing with such violations.
While neither of these sites emits hazardous pollutants in excess of short-term health standards, the long-term health effects remain unknown.
A separate part of the study took long-term measurements of ambient air quality in general in the Fort Worth area. Toward the North, measurements showed cancer-causing benzene at a level higher than the long-term exposure limit set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The location of the benzene exposure occurred near a high concentration of natural gas well pads and compressor stations, as well as significant highway traffic.
Massachusetts-based Eastern Research Group is heading up the study, and aims to show what’s happening to the air in Fort Worth due to natural gas drilling.
Our law firm has handled toxic exposure claims resulting in a cancer diagnosis for over 45 years. If you or someone you know has been exposed to benzene, asbestos, or another harmful substance and has been later diagnosed with a blood cancer or other harmful condition, even years later, please contact us today at benzene@smslegal.com to discuss your legal options.