scholarly journals Unconventional oil and gas extraction as a novel source of endocrine disrupting chemicals to water and the potential for adverse human and animal health outcomes

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Christopher Dennis Kassotis
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Gas Extraction ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Unconventional Oil ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Route Of Exposure

The proper and unimpeded function of hormones is essential for normal development, maturation, and prevention of chronic diseases. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are exogenous chemicals that have been found to disrupt a number of receptor systems with adverse outcomes associated at environmentally relevant exposure levels. This body of work discusses a novel source of exposure to EDCs: unconventional oil and natural gas extraction operations utilizing hydraulic fracturing. Twenty-four hydraulic fracturing chemicals were tested for agonist and antagonist activities for five nuclear receptors, with the majority exhibiting antagonist receptor activities. Elevated estrogen and androgen receptor activities were measured in surface and ground water from drilling-dense sites with known spills, suggesting a route of potential human exposure. Lastly, increased body weights, organ weights, and decreased sperm counts were exhibited by male C57BL/6J mice exposed prenatally to a mixture of these chemicals in drinking water. In total, this work highlights a novel route of exposure to EDCs and suggests a potential threat to human and animal health in areas where these operations occur.

Unconventional oil and gas extraction and animal health

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 1860-1865 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bamberger ◽  
R. E. Oswald
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Gas Extraction ◽  
Unconventional Oil ◽  
Unconventional Oil And Gas

This perspectives article discusses the authors' views of the impacts of unconventional oil and gas extraction on animal health and food safety.

scholarly journals Adverse Reproductive and Developmental Health Outcomes Following Prenatal Exposure to a Hydraulic Fracturing Chemical Mixture in Female C57Bl/6 Mice

Endocrinology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 157 (9) ◽  
pp. 3469-3481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher D. Kassotis ◽  
John J. Bromfield ◽  
Kara C. Klemp ◽  
Chun-Xia Meng ◽  
Andrew Wolfe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Prenatal Exposure ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Pituitary Hormone ◽  
Unconventional Oil ◽  
Gene Assay ◽  
Unconventional Oil And Gas

Unconventional oil and gas operations using hydraulic fracturing can contaminate surface and groundwater with endocrine-disrupting chemicals. We have previously shown that 23 of 24 commonly used hydraulic fracturing chemicals can activate or inhibit the estrogen, androgen, glucocorticoid, progesterone, and/or thyroid receptors in a human endometrial cancer cell reporter gene assay and that mixtures can behave synergistically, additively, or antagonistically on these receptors. In the current study, pregnant female C57Bl/6 dams were exposed to a mixture of 23 commonly used unconventional oil and gas chemicals at approximately 3, 30, 300, and 3000 μg/kg·d, flutamide at 50 mg/kg·d, or a 0.2% ethanol control vehicle via their drinking water from gestational day 11 through birth. This prenatal exposure to oil and gas operation chemicals suppressed pituitary hormone concentrations across experimental groups (prolactin, LH, FSH, and others), increased body weights, altered uterine and ovary weights, increased heart weights and collagen deposition, disrupted folliculogenesis, and other adverse health effects. This work suggests potential adverse developmental and reproductive health outcomes in humans and animals exposed to these oil and gas operation chemicals, with adverse outcomes observed even in the lowest dose group tested, equivalent to concentrations reported in drinking water sources. These endpoints suggest potential impacts on fertility, as previously observed in the male siblings, which require careful assessment in future studies.

scholarly journals Perspectives for use of hydraulic fracturing in oil and gas production

2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Mouallem ◽  
Wilson Trigueiro de Sousa ◽  
Ivo Eyer Cabral ◽  
Adilson Curi
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Gas Extraction ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Oil Exploitation ◽  
The World

Hydraulic fracturing emerges currently, all over the world, as one of the more strategic techniques used by companies in the oil exploitation sector. This technique is characterized by its high productivity and profit in relation to conventional methods of hydrocarbon exploitation. However, in many countries, as is the case of Brazil, there are several divergences considering the employment of this methodology. Many renowned researchers attest that there are several irreversible environmental impacts generated by the use of this methodology. Among the main environmental impacts are the risk of groundwater level contamination, the risk of surface subsidence, and the risk of the environment contamination with fluids used in the process of the oil and gas extraction.

scholarly journals Household Water Security: An Analysis of Water Affect in the Context of Hydraulic Fracturing in West Virginia, Appalachia

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethani Turley ◽  
Martina Angela Caretta
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Water Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
Well Water ◽  
Gas Extraction ◽  
Testing Procedures ◽  
Water Testing ◽  
Oil And Gas Companies

Hydraulic fracturing has been booming in the last decade in the United States. While natural gas extraction and production has improved the national energy security, it has raised questions around the water security of those communities where extraction is taking place. Both scientists and residents are concerned about hydraulic fracturing’s impacts on surface- and groundwater, especially regarding how hydraulic fracturing impacts residents’ access to safe household well water. In the past decade, the Marcellus Shale has been developed in Northwestern West Virginia, yet the human geography dimensions of oil and gas extraction in West Virginia remain to be investigated. This article, based on 30 in-depth interviews, explores household groundwater insecurity due to hydraulic fracturing experienced by residents (i.e., mineral owners, surface owners, and concerned citizens) in Northwestern West Virginia. The concept of water affect is used to attend to the emotional and subjective dimensions of water security by unveiling the power, emotional struggles, and mental stress inherent in water testing practices and environmental regulation around hydraulic fracturing. Water testing is typically conducted by contractors hired by oil and gas companies, but it is mired in delayed test results and incorrect testing procedures, triggering residents’ negative feelings toward oil and gas companies. This article furthers the understanding of water security, commonly defined in terms of individual access to adequate water quality and quantity, by studying Appalachian residents’ anxieties about well water contamination and uncertainty around the long-term water impacts of hydraulic fracturing. By investigating the uneven power relations around groundwater in West Virginia, the emotional experiences and responses are articulated to further the notion of water affect as impacting household groundwater security.

Monitoring of unconventional oil and gas extraction and its policy implications: A case study from South Africa

Energy Policy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 118 ◽  
pp. 109-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surina Esterhuyse ◽  
Marinda Avenant ◽  
Nola Redelinghuys ◽  
Andrzej Kijko ◽  
Jan Glazewski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Gas Extraction ◽  
Unconventional Oil ◽  
Unconventional Oil And Gas
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document