|
Sand dust created from the hydraulic fracturing to extract naturalgas from rock is one of the most dangerous threats to workers atwells blossoming across the U.S., a government safety researchersaid. About four out of five air samples from well sites in five statesin the past two years exceeded recommended limits for silicaparticles, said Eric Esswein, an industrial hygienist at theNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Theparticles in sand dust created during the so-called frackingprocess can lodge in the lungs and cause potentially fatalsilicosis, he said today at a conference sponsored by the Instituteof Medicine. Drilling companies and their workers do a better job handlingpotentially toxic chemicals than they do sand dust, for which there s really no inherent protection at well sites, Essweinsaid. Fracking involves pumping millions of gallons of chemicallytreated water and other matter underground to break up rock andfree sources of natural gas. There s lots more sand used these days in fracking operationsthan there was 10 or 15 years ago, Esswein told an IOM panel thatis studying health issues related to fracking. The gas industry says that its wells, sometimes blamed by peoplewho live nearby for air and water contamination, are safe for bothworkers and the communities where they drill. When it comes to claims that hydraulic fracturing is causingpeople to get sick more frequently or more severely, the datasimply do not support that conclusion, said Steve Everley, aspokesman for Energy In Depth, in an e-mail. His group advocatesfor drilling-friendly policies on behalf of gas companies includingOklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) ( CHK ) Focus on Safety Workers at gas wells are generally safer than in other businesses,Everley said, pointing to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data thatshow the incidence of non-fatal injuries in the oil and gasextraction industry is less than half the national average. Esswein, whose agency is part of the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention, said his team spent about 225 hours visiting 11well sites in Colorado, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Texas and NorthDakota in 2010 and 2011, with the consent of drilling companies, toexamine safety practices. Workers were careful while handling dangerous chemicals andgenerally knew what to do in the event of emergencies, he said. There s a big focus on safety at well sites, Esswein said. There isn t as much emphasis on health. We call it big S andlittle H. He took air samples from workers and near wellheads, to test forcontaminants, and found elevated levels of silica most places. Inabout one-third of the samples, he said, silica levels were morethan 10 times recommendations. Esswein said he didn t know whether the sand dust may be harmfulto local residents because his team didn t take measurements atthe edges of well sites. He plans to publish data from his surveyin trade and scientific journals this year. The Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy ofSciences, advises the U.S. government on health topics. To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Wayne in Washington atawayne3@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale atrgale5@bloomberg.net. I am an expert from sport-sunglass.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Metal Frame Sunglasses Manufacturer , Fashion Sunglasses Manufacturer, Children Sunglasses,and more.
Related Articles -
Metal Frame Sunglasses Manufacturer, Fashion Sunglasses Manufacturer,
|
