Coal seam gas water: potential hazards and exposure pathways in Queensland

Abstract

The extraction of coal seam gas (CSG) produces large volumes of potentially contaminated water. It has raised concerns about the environmental health impacts of the co-produced CSG water. In this paper, we review CSG water contaminants and their potential health effects in the context of exposure pathways in Queensland's CSG basins. The hazardous substances associated with CSG water in Queensland include fluoride, boron, lead and benzene. The exposure pathways for CSG water are (1) water used for municipal purposes; (2) recreational water activities in rivers; (3) occupational exposures; (4) water extracted from contaminated aquifers; and (5) indirect exposure through the food chain. We recommend mapping of exposure pathways into communities in CSG regions to determine the potentially exposed populations in Queensland. Future efforts to monitor chemicals of concern and consolidate them into a central database will build the necessary capability to undertake a much needed environmental health impact assessment.

Environmentally-related health impacts of coal seam gas development: An impact assessment approach in Queensland, Australia

“…Because of the scarcity of previously published data (generally, but specifically within Australia), it was considered important to examine changes over time in hospitalisations for all ICD chapters, not just those suggested in previous literature. A number of additional potential ERHIs were identified in the literature, including fluorosis (Navi et al, 2014) and dermatological symptoms ; however, these were not included in Table 6.5. They were either specific codes within the chapters, which placed them outside the scope of this work, or would most likely fall within a group for which a person would not be admitted to hospital, as with many of the other symptoms that have been reported (e.g., eye irritation, headaches, nosebleeds).…”

“…Potential ERHIs identified included respiratory disease, neurological problems, birth defects, cancer, injuries, psychosocial stress, cardiovascular outcomes, vector-borne disease, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and nephrotoxicity D. Brown, Lewis, & Weinberger, 2015;Navi et al, 2014;Witter et al, 2011).…”

“…Navi et al (2014) raised issues about health outcomes that would fall in this ICD chapter; however, the discussion was general and such health outcomes were not actually studied in the context of UNGD. There are concerns surrounding leaching of toxic organics from coal deposits into water and the potential for nephrotoxicity (Navi et al, 2014), but this has only been studied in areas where Balkan Endemic Nephropathy is present, as well as certain areas in the United States (Feder et al, 2002;Finkelman et al, 2002;Orem et al, 2014). Sub-chapters within this ICD chapter would have to be examined further to determine if there are increases for certain outcomes.…”

Coal Seam Gas Water Quality and Impacts on Downstream Treatment Technologies

“…CSG water quality from the US has shown that Al 3+ concentrations can vary when samples are taken from either production wells or from discharge ponds [119]. Dissolved iron is one parameter that can restrict CS water from being treated by RO if it is found at high concentration [46]. A study in the US has shown that Fe 3+ in CS water can commonly exceed drinking water guidelines, and guidelines for uses such as irrigation or livestock drinking water [18].…”

“…There is potential for CS water to impact the environment if it is released to land or to surface waters untreated [43][44][45][46]. Concentration limits for water quality parameters are set to maintain a minimum impact upon the natural environment such as soils, vegetation and river systems.…”