Hydraulic Fracturing and the Risk of Silicosis

Details

• Personal Author:
  Rosenman, Kenneth D.
• Description:
  "Fracking," the common name for hydraulic fracturing is widely used to extract oil and gas, particularly from deep shale formations. A single well requires the use of millions of gallons of water and tons of sand. Air sampling results show that the majority of silica levels at hydraulic fracturing sites were above the Occupational Safety and Health Administration allowable standard and 84% were above Occupational Safety and Health Administration's new proposed standard. These exposure levels put workers, particularly sand mover operators and T-belt operators who had the highest levels, at risk of silicosis and the other silica-related conditions of lung cancer, end-stage renal disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, and connective tissue disease. Because of the fracking industry's demand for silica, sand mining has markedly increased, which has also increased the number of workers at risk of developing silicosis and other silica-related conditions in the mining industry. This paper reviews the parts of the country where health care providers should be most concerned about possible patients in their practice who are at risk from this newly recognized source of silica exposure and the appropriate medical testing to perform. However, given the long latency, 20 or more years, of most silica-related health conditions and the fact that fracking did not become widely used until the 2000s, it may be years before health care providers see clinical-related disease in their practices. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Lung Lung Diseases Neoplasms Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Silicon Dioxide Silicosis
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Hydraulic Facturing Chronic Renal Failure Clinical Symptoms Connective Tissue Disease COPD Fracking Hydraulic Fracturing Lung Cancer Oil And Natural Gas Drilling Oil Shale Respiratory Diseases Sand And Gravel Mines Silica Dusts Tuberculosis

  More +
• ISSN:
  1068-0640
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  167-172
• Volume:
  21
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054263
• Citation:
  Clin Pulm Med 2014 Jul; 21(4):167-172
• Contact Point Address:
  Kenneth D. Rosenman, MD, Department of Medicine, Michigan State University, 909 Fee Road, Room 117 West Fee, East Lansing, Michigan 48824
• Email:
  rosenman@msu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  Michigan State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Clinical Pulmonary Medicine
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0c9e989474d059cedb710ab869a659243b4968a35ca8795aee4a13960e4e93af58723dfacc0605a98b1f2898e16bf99f439b00409ee6fe7cb3f3eb42a32af090
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216862/cdc_216862_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 600.34 KB ]