Nation’s First Study of Fracking Wells Emissions Completed in Colorado

jeffcollett

In a study that will be the first of its kind nationwide, Colorado researchers plan to assess new data on air pollution from fracking wells in their state and use it to determine whether the emissions are harmful to human health.

New data was released this week after a three-year study at Colorado State University measured methane and ozone-causing compounds released from new natural gas wells in western Colorado.

CSU professor Jeff Collett’s study did not measure the health effects but state officials plan to use his data in computer modeling to assess those risks.

“This study is incredibly useful,” said Mike Van Dyke of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. He said the state will hire outside researchers to start the study of the human health risks. The health risk study should be completed by January 2018.

Van Dyke says the CSU study is the first time researchers were able to say with certainty they were measuring pollution only from drilling operations and not from other sources.

Garfield County in western Colorado’s gas field contributed $1 million toward Collett’s study and oil and gas companies gave another $700,000 and allowed researchers access to the drilling sites. Collett says the companies and no one else influenced his research as he took air samples and measurements from the plume of air emissions from new natural gas wells during three phases of drilling, fracking and “flowback.”