Volatile Organic Compounds

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a class of carbon-containing gases that can be released from certain solid or liquid substances.

Health effects from VOCs vary depending on the compound. Some VOCs are highly toxic, while others have no known health effects. VOCs can cause health effects such as loss of coordination or damage to the liver and kidneys and nervous system. Some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans. Key signs or symptoms associated with exposure to VOCs include eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, allergic skin reaction, nausea, fatigue and dizziness. VOCs also react with nitrogen oxides to create ground-level ozone, which can contribute to severe respiratory and immune system problems.

Benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylenes (BTEX) are examples of volatile organic compounds. BTEX are naturally present in many hydrocarbon deposits. Benzene is a human carcinogen. Long-term exposure can result in leukemia, a potentially fatal cancer of the blood-forming organs. It is a “non-threshold” pollutant, meaning that there is the potential for harm to human health at any level of exposure.

Fuels like diesel and gasoline that are derived from fossil fuels contain VOCs, as do some of the solvents and chemicals used during the extraction and refining of oil and gas, tar sands and other Dirty Energy sources. VOCs are also emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels, including coal.

• Oil and some natural gas formations contain BTEX, and these compounds can be released from well site equipment, or if there are leaks of spills of oil and gas. BTEX may also be constituents of oil and gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing chemicals, and can be released to the air when these chemicals are stored in pits or are spilled at the surface. In 2005, there was a release of between 168-210 gallons of fluids that returned to the surface from a hydraulic fracturing operation. The fracturing fluid DWP-91 contained ethylbenzene; xylene; ethoxylated nonylphenol; trimethylbenzene; light aromatic naphtha; and other volatile substances that were able to enter the air.
• Environmental Defense reports that Alberta tar sands releases of benzene are now about 100 tonnes per year, and could grow to 500 to 800 tonnes per year by 2015. The Canadian government appears to understand the health hazards associated with benzene, and is pressing ahead with regulating benzene from the natural gas, iron and steel sectors, but at the present time is merely contemplating a future cap on benzene for the tar sands.

Nitrogen oxides

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are a of global and local concern because they:

• contribute to global warming,
• are involved in the formation of ground-level ozone, which can trigger serious respiratory problems,
• react to form nitrate particles, acid aerosols, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which also cause respiratory problems,
• react to form toxic chemicals,
• contribute to the formation of acid rain,
• contribute to formation of atmospheric particles that impair visibility,
• contribute to nutrient overload that deteriorates water quality.

All of the sources of Dirty Energy are major sources of nitrogen oxides. These emissions occur as a result of burning fossil fuels during the extraction, production, refining, processing and transport of oil and gas, tar sands, oil shale, coal and coal-to-liquids.

Ozone

The white haze seen over many cities is tropospheric or ground-level ozone, also known as smog. Ozone is formed when non-methane hydrocarbons (such as volatile organic compounds or VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) react in the presence of heat and sunlight. The largest sources of NOx oxides are automobile exhaust and industrial combustion, while VOCs can be released from oil and gas production equipment, chemicals and gasoline.

According to EPA, ozone negatively impacts human health -- breathing air containing ozone can reduce lung function, aggravate asthma or lead to other respiratory conditions. Ozone exposure also has been associated with increases in:

• medication use by asthmatics,
• doctors and emergency room visits,
• hospital admissions for individuals with respiratory disease,
• susceptibility to respiratory infections,
• and school absenteeism.

Ozone exposure may also contribute to premature death, especially in people with heart and lung disease. Children, elderly people, and those with chronic respiratory diseases are particularly sensitive.

Also, repeated exposure to ozone damages sensitive vegetation and trees, leading to reduced growth, increased susceptibility to disease and pests, and damaged foliage.

The use of fossil fuels has led to an increase in ground-level ozone in many urban and industrialized areas. This process started in the United States around 1960 and was observed in Europe a decade later. Ozone pollution is now becoming a pressing dilemma in rapidly developing countries, such as China, and in mega-cities such as Mexico City, Bombay, and Beijing.

High ozone levels have also become an issue of concern in many rural and relatively pristine areas, where population density is low. According to an article in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), many of the problem areas are “nodes of rapidly expanding natural gas drilling,” as well as rural areas in the western United States that are home to coal-fired power plants. For example:

• In Wyoming's Sublette County, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality issued five air pollution advisories in early 2008. The 2005–2007 average ozone concentration for the fourth highest eight-hour maximum was 72.7 ppb.
• San Juan County in northwest New Mexico has experienced levels of 79.0 ppb at a two-year-old monitor. In 2000, ozone concentrations in San Juan county were found to be highest near the PNM coal powerplant, and near the Bloomfield Gas Corridor. The concentrations were higher than other parts of the state including Albuquerque, a city of 450,000.

In March, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lowered the acceptable level of ozone to 75 ppb . According to the EHP article, the EPA's own scientists had recommended going as low as 60 ppb to provide adequate protection to human health and sensitive trees and plants.

Particulate matter and dust

Particulate matter is also known as particle pollution or PM. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, particle pollution is made up of a number of components, including acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles.

Particulate pollution is often divided into categories based on the size of the particles:

• PM10 represents inhalable coarse particles that are larger than 2.5 micrometers and smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter. These types of particles are often found near roadways and dusty industries.
• PM2.5 or "fine particles" are 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller. These particles are found in smoke and haze. They can be directly emitted from sources like forest fires, or they can form when gases emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles react in the air.

The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems. Particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter pose the greatest problems because they can get deep into a person’s lungs, and even enter the bloodstream, causing serious health problems.

Numerous scientific studies have linked exposure to particulate matter to a variety of health problems, including:

• irritation of the airways,
• coughing, or difficulty breathing,
• decreased lung function,
• aggravated asthma,
• chronic bronchitis,
• irregular heartbeat, and
• premature death in people with heart or lung disease.

Particulate matter can also cause haze and reduced visibility, and combine with nitrogen oxides and other air pollutants to form smog.

All Dirty Energy sources contribute particulate matter to the atmosphere:

• The development of oil and gas, tar sands, oil shale and coal mining operations require the construction of roads, well pads, and removal of vegetation, which allows dust to enter the air. Particulate matter is released by the heavy construction and mining equipment.
• Refineries also emit large amounts of particulate matter. And the expansion of refineries to take heavy, tar sands crude will significantly increase the amount of particulate pollution released into neighborhoods. The expansion of the BP Whiting refinery is predicted to increase annual particulate matter emissions by 21% by 2011.
• Surface mining of coal disturbs land and removes overburden, causing dust pollution. Coal dust can be picked up by winds at the mine site or from trucks and rail cars, and settle on nearby houses and yards. Coal waiting to be burned by power plants is typically stored onsite in uncovered stockpiles, and can also be carried offsite by the wind. Coal dust when breathed in can irritate the lungs. Every year, coal miners die from black lung disease brought on by breathing hazardous coal dust.
• According to the Clean Air Task Force, fine particulate matter pollution from U.S. power plants leads to more than 24,000 deaths each year. CATF also reports that recent epidemiological and toxicological evidence suggests that the particles resulting from coal-fired power plants are particularly dangerous, and that sulfate particles, which are formed from coal-fired power plant sulfur dioxide emissions, are more strongly associated with human mortality than other components of particulate matter.
• Emissions from petroleum coke contain significant amounts of fine dust particles. Like coal, petroleum coke, which is a by-product of refining tar sands bitumen and heavy crude oil, is similarly often stored in open piles.
   
  According to a Los Angeles Times article, studies have shown a link between elevated levels of coke dust in the air and the deaths of people with respiratory illness and heart disease. Recognizing the risks involved in open-air storage of petroleum coke, in 2000 the South Coast Air Quality Management District of California passed a law to reduce the emission of airborne particulate matter from the storage, handling, and transportation of petroleum coke. This is not a requirement in all states.
   
  Coke is also shipped by rail through many communities. For example, the Shell refinery in Anacortes, WA ships petroleum coke by rail and barge. The coke rail shipments cross the Swinomish Reservation within one half mile from the refinery, and there are concerns about the particulate matter, heavy metals and carcinogenic compounds in the coke getting into air, and spilling from the rail cars into waterways and onto land.

Diesel engine exhaust

Diesel fuel combustion produces sulfur oxides, which is released to the air as particulate matter that contains thousands of components, many of them carcinogenic and otherwise toxic. Oxides of nitrogen are also formed during diesel combustion. For example, nitrogen dioxide, is highly toxic to humans and many other animals. Humans exposed to high concentrations may experience lung irritation, lung damage and possibly death. Increased respiratory disease has been associated with lower level exposures.

Exposure to diesel engine exhaust has been associated with adverse health effects for decades. Numerous studies have linked diesel engine exhaust to cancer and other diseases.

Extracting Dirty Energy uses a lot of energy. Heavy equipment is required to build roads, drill wells and mine tar sands and coal. In most cases, diesel fuel is used to power this equipment.

• In Colorado alone, approximately 1,000 miles of road are constructed for oil and gas wells each year. Diesel equipment is used to excavate, grade, build the road base, and gravel or pave these roads.
• Diesel equipment is necessary to drill for and produce oil and gas. According to a Diesel Exhaust Emissions study conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), a drilling rig requires between one and three diesel engines that it operate 24-hours-per-day until drilling is completed (which usually takes between 3 - 10 days). Once drilling is completed, hydraulic fracturing rigs and completion rigs move in for a few days; and over the course of the well’s existence, rigs will return to the site to perform maintenance or re-fracture the well. It has been estimated that a rig burns around a thousand gallons of diesel fuel per day. In a separate presentation, the CDPHE reports that in Colorado, as many as 600 diesel truck trips may be made to a well site prior to well completion; and hundreds of subsequent trips may be needed to service the well.

Hydrogen Sulfide

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a poisonous, flammable, colorless gas, often recognized by a tell-tale odor of rotten eggs. People usually can smell hydrogen sulfide at low concentrations in air, but at high concentrations, many people lose the ability to smell it. This makes hydrogen sulfide very dangerous, since exposures to high concentrations of H2S can be fatal.

Almost all organ systems are affected by hydrogen sulfide, but the most susceptible are those with exposed mucous membranes (e.g., eyes, noise and throat) and those with high oxygen demands (e.g., lungs, brain). Neurotoxicity of the central nervous system (causing nausea, dizziness, confusion, headaches and sleeping problems) and pulmonary edema (build-up of fluid in the lungs) are other well-documented effects of hydrogen sulfide poisoning. Cardiovascular and gastrointestinal toxicity are also associated with H2S exposure.

Research conducted by Kaye Kilburn, a medical doctor and professor of medicine at the University of Southern California, suggests that exposure to hydrogen sulfide may cause long-term, irreversible human health effects. Kilburn has examined people from Alberta living close to oil wells and collection depots, and has found signs of hydrogen sulfide exposure. According to Kilburn, "These people have impairment of brain function and lung function."

Hydrogen sulfide occurs naturally in gases associated with volcanoes, hot springs, swamps, and some crude petroleum and natural gas. But it is also generated during some industrial processes including sewage treatment plants and swine operations. Sources of H2S from Dirty Energy production include refineries, natural gas plants, petrochemical plants and coke oven plants.

• There are many studies of adverse health effects related to high-level exposures to H2S. Exposure to hydrogen sulfide is one of the leading causes of sudden death in the workplace, including at oil and gas facilities such as refineries and well sites. But worrisome H2S levels have also been documented in oil and gas communities, and there are many accounts of people in these areas who have heath problems that they believe to be linked to H2S exposures.
• If U.S. refineries expand to take tar sands bitumen, which contain high levels of sulfur, they will likely emit more hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and other harmful pollutants such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), and sulfuric acid mist into neighboring communities
• Oil shale also contains high concentrations of sulfur. During the in situ oil shale retorting process, some of this sulfur is converted to hydrogen sulfide gas. The concentration of H2S in the gas can be 1,500 to 3,000 parts per million by volume. A single breath at 1,000 ppm H2S results in immediate loss of consciousness, cardiac arrest and death unless the unconscious victim is successfully revived.
• In some coal mining areas, H2S gas is formed during warm weather when runoff from coal mines that have high sulfate concentrations mix with water from lake bottoms. In northeast Ohio, many reservoirs have become H2S problem areas as a result of improper restoration of strip-mined land. At these reservoirs, warning signs have been posted advising the public to stay away.

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

SO2 causes a wide variety of environmental and health impacts because of the way it reacts with other substances in the air.

• SO2 and nitrogen oxides react with other substances in the air to form acids, which fall to earth as rain, fog, snow, or dry particles. Some of these “acid rain precursors” may be carried by the wind for hundreds of miles.
• SO2 reacts with other chemicals in the air to form tiny sulfate particles. Haze occurs when light is scattered or absorbed by sulfate and other particles and gases in the air. Sulfate particles are the major cause of reduced visibility in many parts of the U.S., including national parks.
• High levels of SO2 in the air can cause temporary breathing difficulty for people with asthma who are active outdoors. Longer-term exposures to high levels of SO2 gas and particles cause respiratory illness and aggravate existing heart disease. Particularly sensitive groups include people with asthma who are active outdoors and children, the elderly, and people with heart or lung disease.

Sulfur dioxide emissions occur from the production of all types of Dirty Energy. The main source of sulfur dioxide in the air is industrial activity that processes materials that contain sulfur, for example, the generation of electricity from coal, or oil or gas that contains sulfur. In addition, industrial activities that burn fossil fuels containing sulfur can be important sources of sulfur dioxide.

• In the U.S., coal-fired power plants are by far the greatest emitters of sulfur dioxide pollution, accounting for 67 percent of all SO2 emissions nationwide.
• According to Dan Woynillowicz of the Pembina Institute, “Modeling of the impacts of approved tar sands development, which includes three operating mines and three operations at various stages of planning and construction, shows that maximum predicted ambient air concentrations of NOX and SO2 would exceed provincial, national and international guidelines.”

Acid Rain

Acid rain looks, feels, and tastes just like clean rain. However, the pollutants that cause acid rain -- sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) -- damage human health. These gases interact in the atmosphere to form fine sulfate and nitrate particles that can be transported long distances by winds and be inhaled deep into people's lungs. Fine particles can also penetrate indoors. Many scientific studies have identified a relationship between elevated levels of fine particles and increased illness and premature death from heart and lung disorders, such as asthma and bronchitis.

Acid rain can alter aquatic ecosystems by making streams and lakes too acidic to support some forms of life. Acid rain can also affect terrestrial ecosystems by damaging forests, and acidifying soils so that they no longer support the same plant species.

A number of Dirty Energy sources contribute in a major way to acid rain:

• In the U.S., coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of sulfur dioxide pollution and the second largest source of NOx pollution – the chemicals that react form acid rain. Older coal plants, which are exempt from modern clean air standards, are the most significant source of acid rain pollutants. Because of prevailing winds, the northeastern U.S. and Canada receive significant quantities of acid-forming pollutants from coal-fired power plants in states stretching from Missouri to the west and Pennsylvania to the east.
• Current rates of acid forming pollution from the tar sands are 158,000 metric ton per year of sulfur oxides and 76,000 metric tons per year of nitrous oxides. The tar sands are directly upwind of areas in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northwest Territories that are considered sensitive to acid rain. Citing an Environment Canada report, the journal Environmental Science and Technology, reports that oil and tar sands development in Alberta may have already begun to damage sensitive ecosystems in western Canada. If tar sands development is expanded, western Canada can expect to see an increase in the deadly effects of acid rain on ecosystems.

Based on health concerns, SO2 and NOx have historically been regulated by the United States’ federal environmental laws. By lowering SO2 and NOx emissions from Dirty Energy sources such as coal fired power generation or tar sands development, the levels of fine sulfate and nitrate particles will decrease and thus reduce the incidence and the severity of these health problems. Decreases in NOx emissions would also have a beneficial impact on human health by reducing the nitrogen oxides available to react with organic compounds and form ozone.

Mercury

Mercury concentrations in the air are usually low, and do not pose a direct threat to health. But once mercury enters water the story changes.

Mercury can directly enter natural waterways through a disposal system, or it can be deposited from the air. Once in the water, biological processes transform it into methylmercury, which is a highly toxic form of mercury. Methylmercury accumulate in the tissues and organs of fish and in humans (or any other animals that eat fish).

The most common way people are exposed to any form of mercury is by eating fish containing methylmercury. Mercury contamination in fish across the United States is so widespread that health departments in 42 states have issued fish consumption advisories. EPA advises pregnant women and young children to avoid certain types of fish and shellfish due to high mercury content.

Mercury is a neurotoxin. There is evidence in humans and animals that exposure to methylmercury can have adverse effects on the developing and adult cardiovascular system, blood pressure regulation and heart-rate variability. In fetuses, infants, and children, the primary health effect of methylmercury is impaired neurological development.

• Coal-fired power plants are the largest remaining source of human-generated mercury emissions in the United States. Mercury emitted from coal-fired power plants comes from mercury in coal, which is released when the coal is burned.
• Mercury is also present in western oil shale. According to the Western Research Institute, oil shales in the Western U.S. have high mercury contents - up to 5 times the amount found in western coal per BTU. They also found that the mercury is quickly vaporized during thermal process of the oil shale, and that this mercury could be released to the atmosphere in a variety of chemical forms.
• Mercury is also present in oil and gas, but a 2004 study estimates that the total amount of mercury in crude oil processed in the U.S annually is less than five percent of the amount contained in U.S. coal produced annually.
• At the present time, there is not a lot of publicly available data on the content of mercury in bitumen from the tar sands.

Tag it:

?