Community-Based Health and Exposure Study around Urban Oil Developments in South Los Angeles

Abstract

Oilfield-adjacent communities often report symptoms such as headaches and/or asthma. Yet, little data exists on health experiences and exposures in urban environments with oil and gas development. In partnership with Promotoras de Salud (community health workers), we gathered household surveys nearby two oil production sites in Los Angeles. We tested the capacity of low-cost sensors for localized exposure estimates. Bilingual surveys of 205 randomly sampled residences were collected within two 1500 ft. buffer areas (West Adams and University Park) surrounding oil development sites. We used a one-sample proportion test, comparing overall rates from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) of Service Planning Area 6 (SPA6) and Los Angeles County for variables of interest such as asthma. Field calibrated low-cost sensors recorded methane emissions. Physician diagnosed asthma rates were reported to be higher within both buffers than in SPA6 or LA County. Asthma prevalence in West Adams but not University Park was significantly higher than in Los Angeles County. Respondents with diagnosed asthma reported rates of emergency room visits in the previous 12 months similar to SPA6. 45% of respondents were unaware of oil development; 63% of residents would not know how to contact local regulatory authorities. Residents often seek information about their health and site-related activities. Low-cost sensors may be useful in highlighting differences between sites or recording larger emission events and can provide localized data alongside resident-reported symptoms. Regulatory officials should help clarify information to the community on methods for reporting health symptoms. Our community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership supports efforts to answer community questions as residents seek a safety buffer between sensitive land uses and active oil development.

Long-term reliability of the Figaro TGS 2600 solid-state methane sensor under low-Arctic conditions at Toolik Lake, Alaska

“…The sensors were previously deployed over Toolik Lake during the ice-free season in 2011 , where similar values between TGS-derived and reference CH 4 mole fractions were only found if measurements were integrated over at least 6 h or if they were aggregated to mean diel cycles over the season. Other studies have deployed the same sensor type in complex rural and urban environments along the Colorado Front Range (Collier-Oxandale et al, 2018), in an oil and gas production region (Greeley, Colorado;Casey et al, 2019), and in urban south Los Angeles (Shamasunder et al, 2018). An application on an unmanned aerial vehicle, however, did not successfully detect CH 4 hotspots (Falabella et al, 2018).…”

Using A Low-Cost Sensor Array and Machine Learning Techniques to Detect Complex Pollutant Mixtures and Identify Likely Sources

“…We selected classes of sources to be simulated that are relevant to the communities in which these sensors could be deployed. The example community selected was one with which the Hannigan Group has performed another air quality research project and is located near downtown Los Angeles, California [44]. This community was selected because of its proximity to a variety of sources that may contribute to local air quality issues.…”

The Effects of the Environment on Asthma Disease Activity

“…Structural discrimination can impact asthma as it can manifest as unequal access to highquality medical resources, sub-standard housing 94 , lack of homeownership and living in neighborhoods with higher levels of pollution (e.g. closer proximity to highways, pollutant producing factories 95 ).…”