Evaluation of some potential chemical exposure risks during flowback operations in unconventional oil and gas extraction: preliminary results

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alexander-Scott M ; Breitenstein, Michael J. ; Esswein, Eric J. ; Kiefer, Max ; King, Bradley S. ; Snawder, John E.
• Description:
  Approximately 562,000 workers were employed in the U.S. oil and gas extraction industry in 2012; nearly half of those workers were employed by well servicing companies, which include companies that conduct hydraulic fracturing and flowback operations. To understand possible risks for chemical exposures in modern oil and gas extraction operations, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) initiated the Field Effort to Assess Chemical Exposures in Oil and Gas Workers. Initial research identified exposure risks for respirable crystalline silica during hydraulic fracturing as an occupational health hazard. This report describes industrial hygiene sampling during flowback operations at six unconventional oil and gas extraction sites in Colorado and Wyoming during spring and summer 2013. The results are considered preliminary; additional exposure assessments are needed to better understand the range of possible exposures, risk factors, and controls during flowback operations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aluminum Silicates Occupational Health Oil And Gas Industry Petroleum Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Silicon Dioxide
• Keywords:
  Exposure-levels Gas-industry Hydraulic-equipment Industrial-hygiene Oil-industry Oil-vapors Petroleum-industry Petroleum-oils Risk-factors Silica-dusts Silicates

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• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Wyoming
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology ; WSO - Western States Office
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  11
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044996
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2014 Oct; 11(10):D174-D184
• Contact Point Address:
  Eric J. Esswein, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Western States Office, Denver, CO
• Email:
  eje1@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining ; Oil and Gas Extraction ; Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c6947e0a8843d8373bb51c23a1a9b1aaf4c539e9aa63785fcccff362013905a475b40cb619274475fb2c8816ca8b78ac93b0b482329f9a71af8f832b52bb49b6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200557/cdc_200557_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 478.70 KB ]