| Title: | Point source attribution of ambient contamination events near unconventional oil and gas development |
| Author(s): | Hildenbrand ZL; Mach PM; McBride EM; Dorreyatim MN; Taylor JT; Carlton DD; Meik JM; Fontenot BE; Wright KC; Schug KA; Verbeck GF; |
| Address: | "Affiliate of the Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, United States; Inform Environmental, LLC, Dallas, TX 75206, United States. Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, United States. Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, United States. Inform Environmental, LLC, Dallas, TX 75206, United States. Affiliate of the Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, United States; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, United States. Affiliate of the Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, United States; Department of Biological Sciences, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX 76401, United States. Affiliate of the Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, United States. Inficon, Syracuse, NY 13057, United States. Affiliate of the Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, United States; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, United States. Electronic address: kschug@uta.edu. Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, United States. Electronic address: gverbeck@unt.edu" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.08.118 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1879-1026 (Electronic) 0048-9697 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "We present an analysis of ambient benzene, toluene, and xylene isomers in the Eagle Ford shale region of southern Texas. In situ air quality measurements using membrane inlet mobile mass spectrometry revealed ambient benzene and toluene concentrations as high as 1000 and 5000 parts-per-billion, respectively, originating from specific sub-processes on unconventional oil and gas well pad sites. The detection of highly variant contamination events attributable to natural gas flaring units, condensate tanks, compressor units, and hydrogen sulfide scavengers indicates that mechanical inefficiencies, and not necessarily the inherent nature of the extraction process as a whole, result in the release of these compounds into the environment. This awareness of ongoing contamination events contributes to an enhanced knowledge of ambient volatile organic compounds on a regional scale. While these reconnaissance measurements on their own do not fully characterize the fluctuations of ambient BTEX concentrations that likely exist in the atmosphere of the Eagle Ford Shale region, they do suggest that contamination events from unconventional oil and gas development can be monitored, controlled, and reduced" |
| Keywords: | Air Pollutants/*analysis Air Pollution Benzene/*analysis Environmental Monitoring/*methods *Oil and Gas Industry Texas Toluene/*analysis Xylenes/*analysis Air quality Btex Eagle Ford Mobile mass spectrometry; |
| Notes: | "MedlineHildenbrand, Zacariah L Mach, Phillip M McBride, Ethan M Dorreyatim, M Navid Taylor, Josh T Carlton, Doug D Jr Meik, Jesse M Fontenot, Brian E Wright, Kenneth C Schug, Kevin A Verbeck, Guido F eng Netherlands 2016/08/31 Sci Total Environ. 2016 Dec 15; 573:382-388. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.08.118. Epub 2016 Aug 26" |
