Methane is Dangerous for Your Health
BLM Methane Rule Hearing March 3, 2016
I had the opportunity to attend the public hearing for the Bureau of Land Managements Methane Rule. Some outcomes from the Rule include the harnessing of potential energy lost from methane that has either escaped from the pipes on the site of the drilling and storage facilities or is currently being burned off in the form of flares. The other directive is to create guidelines for companies that are drilling on public lands for all future activity in order to decrease lost royalties and the effect methane has on global warming. Global warming effects and immediate health risks are recent national news as a result of the uncontained methane gas leak in California.
As a Pediatrician I am concerned about how our environment affects the health and safety of North Dakota’s children and families. Representatives of the oil industry presented their position at the BLM Hearing on Thursday, March 3, 2016 in Dickinson, North Dakota. Part of the oil industry’s concern was the need to have more evidence about health complications from methane. This argument formed part of their argument to refute the need for the BLM’s guidelines. As I mentioned in my presentation, when methane is sold commercially it contains mercaptan, which is a foul-smelling chemical that makes detection of leaks obvious. It has a sulfur smell, like rotten eggs. The smell was put into Natural Gas in the aftermath of a school explosion in New London, Texas in 1937. 300 students and faculty members lost their lives after the school exploded and was leveled when the trapped natural gas was ignited. The School was being fueled by gas directly from the nearby oil wells. After that disaster, mercaptan was introduced by the gas companies for safety and health reasons, in order to make the presence of leaks obvious. Perhaps the people representing the oil companies on March 3, 2016 in Dickinson were unaware of their own companies concerns about safety.
There may be other inorganic or organic compounds of concern, but I addressed methane individually as one component of a gas stream.
These are the facts, facts the oil industry works with every day, before the methane is processed to be sold commercially, before it contains mercaptan:
1. Methane is slightly soluble so it can enter in the ground water and when it seeps into basements or leaks and is exposed to air it becomes a vapor.
2. It is also odorless when it leaks into the soil or out of pumps before it is processed.
3. The numbers that are referred to consist of Lower Explosive Limit (or LEL) of 5% when a flash of fire can occur in the presence of an ignition source and the Upper Explosive Limit (UEL) is 15 %, above that it is too rich to burn.
4. As an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas, its characteristic as a flammable gas, with potential for explosions may go undetected by a child or adults even before physical symptoms occur.
5. From a respiratory point of view, very high levels of methane can displace (move) the amount of oxygen in the air and cause asphyxiation or suffocation, resulting in symptoms like headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, increased breathing rate, loss of coordination, loss of consciousness, and possible death.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) works with communities to register and understand these dangers and has been effective in identifying and eliminating this type of hazard. However, the federal hearing for the ATSDR suggested that an LEL of 1% is a concern.
The National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends a maximum safe methane concentration for workers during an 8-hour period of 1,000 parts per million (or 0.1 percent).
The oil companies understand methane is dangerous, but the people who represented them wanted more evidence, more proof. I recommended that the oil companies and BLM include the ATSDR as a partner to determine the most effective way to continuously measure methane levels in the environment, including soils, water and air before it is sold or transported. I suggested that such an experienced partner be added into the final Methane Rule, in every effort to protect the children and families and oil company employees of this community.
CONTACT NUMBERS FOR:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry,
4770 Buford Hwy NE,
Atlanta, GA 30341 USA
800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636), TTY: 888-232-6348
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