Exposure to unconventional oil and gas development and all-cause mortality in Medicare beneficiaries

Li, Longxiang; Dominici, Francesca; Blomberg, Annelise J.; Bargagli-Stoffi, Falco J.; Schwartz, Joel; Coull, Brent A.; Spengler, John D.; Wei, Yaguang; Lawrence, Joy; Koutrakis, Petros

doi:10.1038/s41560-021-00970-y

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Assumes that the exposure potential declines rapidly with distance, as a function of the distance squared. Assumes that each phase of well development has different exposure potential that may be represented by features of the well (e.g., total well depth, daily natural gas production volume) Casey (2016) * [ 80 ] Casey (2019) * [ 144 ] Tran (2020) *,c [ 81 •] McAlexander (2020) [ 145 ] Koehler (2018) [ 42 ] c Rasmussen (2016) * [ 104 ] Willis (2020) *,c [ 25 ] Tustin (2016) [ 146 ] Casey (2018) [ 147 ] Pathway-specific models and metrics Air pathway McKenzie (2019a) * [ 96 •] McKenzie (2019b) [ 97 ] Li (2022) [ 98 ] Flaring Cushing [ 84 •] (2020) * Willis (2020) [ 99 ] *,c * Indicates a study with a pediatric population or a population that includes both children and adults with results presented separately for children a Note that no epidemiologic studies included in this review used surveys, environmental measurements, or biological monitoring to assess exposure to UOGD b Other health outcomes includes studies of self-reported health symptoms, mental health outcomes, nasal/sinus symptoms, fatigue, migraine, and sexually transmitted infections c This study applied multiple metrics that fit into multiple categories …”

Section: Exposure Assessment Methods and Review Of Epidemiologic Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing Exposure to Unconventional Oil and Gas Development: Strengths, Challenges, and Implications for Epidemiologic Research

Deziel¹,

Clark²,

Casey

et al. 2022

Curr Envir Health Rpt

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Purpose of Review Epidemiologic studies have observed elevated health risks in populations living near unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD). In this narrative review, we discuss strengths and limitations of UOG exposure assessment approaches used in or available for epidemiologic studies, emphasizing studies of children’s health outcomes. Recent Findings Exposure assessment challenges include (1) numerous potential stressors with distinct spatiotemporal patterns, (2) critical exposure windows that cover long periods and occur in the past, and (3) limited existing monitoring data coupled with the resource-intensiveness of collecting new exposure measurements to capture spatiotemporal variation. All epidemiologic studies used proximity-based models for exposure assessment as opposed to surveys, biomonitoring, or environmental measurements. Nearly all studies used aggregate (rather than pathway-specific) models, which are useful surrogates for the complex mix of potential hazards. Summary Simple and less-specific exposure assessment approaches have benefits in terms of scalability, interpretability, and relevance to specific policy initiatives such as set-back distances. More detailed and specific models and metrics, including dispersion methods and stressor-specific models, could reduce exposure misclassification, illuminate underlying exposure pathways, and inform emission control and exposure mitigation strategies. While less practical in a large population, collection of multi-media environmental and biological exposure measurements would be feasible in cohort subsets. Such assessments are well-suited to provide insights into the presence and magnitude of exposures to UOG-related stressors in relation to spatial surrogates and to better elucidate the plausibility of observed effects in both children and adults.

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Section: Exposure Assessment Methods and Review Of Epidemiologic Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They found an association between UOGD wells and downwind radiation measurements. This downwind model was applied in one health study of all-cause mortality among Medicare beneficiaries, which observed significant higher mortality risk associated with living downwind of UOGD wells [ 98 ].…”

Section: Pathway-specific Proximity-based Models and Metricsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Exposure to Unconventional Oil and Gas Development: Strengths, Challenges, and Implications for Epidemiologic Research

Deziel¹,

Clark²,

Casey

et al. 2022

Curr Envir Health Rpt

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“…Researchers say an assessment of the cumulative health impacts from all air-pollutant sources is needed, for example, to set new policies, particularly for people who can't avoid exposure, such as outdoor labourers. A January study of more than 15 million US Medicare recipients in major oil and gas fracking areas found that those who lived closest to wells had a 2.5% higher risk of mortality, a value that was statistically significant 10 . Another study 11 estimated that, by 2025, the oil and gas sector alone will be responsible for 970 ozone-related premature deaths and 1,000 PM 2.5 -related deaths nationwide -as well as thousands of hospital visits and more than one million cases of exacerbated asthma and acute respiratory symptoms.…”

Section: Inhaled Impactsmentioning

confidence: 98%

How a dangerous stew of air pollution is choking the United States

Gewin¹

2022

Nature

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“…Further, engineering controls can fail, and such solutions may not be available or economically feasible to handle all the complex hazards associated with OGD. Further, while the epidemiological literature clearly demonstrates that OGD is associated with multiple adverse health outcomes, such as adverse birth outcomes, respiratory disease, and mortality, the hazards and exposure pathways that contribute to these outcomes remain unclear (Li et al 2022, Deziel et al 2022a. Consequently, the effectiveness of mitigating health risks through engineering controls alone may be limited if the technologies do not control for uncharacterized hazards or exposure pathways.…”

Section: Engineering Controlsmentioning

confidence: 99%