How natural gas can be bad

To the editor:

The Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project recently visited New York State to report on phase one of our New York Environmental Health Study. This study focuses on air exposures and potential health effects resulting from the transmission of natural gas across, the state, including the compressor station located at 332 Hunts Point Ave., in the Bronx.

The project’s work and the work of other researchers shows that industrial sites such as these pose a serious health risk to those living nearby, especially to children, the elderly and individuals with chronic health problems. However, we believe these risks can be substantially mitigated if there is sufficient political will to do so.

Compressor station emissions travel downward, impacting residents within one-half mile of the compressor station — and under certain weather conditions, at greater distances. Periods of short-term high-intensity exposure can last from a few minutes to several hours.

The primary risks for nearby residents are from the mix of particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, and up to 70 chemical air pollutants reported to the state environmental conservation department and the National Emissions Inventory. Particulate matter (especially the finer particles, such as PM 2.5) is a known health hazard that effectively binds with other air toxicants.

Short-term exposure can cause headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and numerous respiratory problems. Over time, these exposures may increase the risk of asthma, COPD, endocrine disruption, poor birth outcomes, and cancer.

Because particulate matter has the capacity to synergize with multiple chemicals, we strongly recommend that the natural gas industry employ the best available control technology to remove particles and thereby reduce exposures.

If emissions are not mitigated, it will fall to residents, schools, day care centers and others in the path of emissions to understand the health implications of exposure, and protect their health by filtering indoor air as best they can, while also monitoring air quality each day to identify days when outdoor activities should be limited.

Celia Lewis, David Brown

The authors are, respectively, a research and communications specialist and an environmental public health scientist with Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project.