Second report concludes drilling pollutants not at unhealthy concentrations
Tuesday night’s report, prepared by Lakewood-based Pinyon Environmental Inc., looks at elevated levels of propane and benzene detected in a 2011 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study and concludes that even a lifetime exposure to the concentrations cited would have a “low” risk of causing adverse health effects on Erie residents.
It comes just two weeks after another toxicological study found that the town’s propane levels as measured by NOAA were “1,000-fold or more below those considered to be of health concern.”
Propane and benzene, which is carcinogenic, are commonly associated with natural gas drilling operations, of which there are hundreds throughout Erie.
The NOAA analysis, which alarmed several trustees by noting that the level of propane was 10 times higher in Erie than in Pasadena, Calif., and several times higher than in Houston, helped convince the town in March to enact a 180-day moratorium on new drilling activity. Read More