Spatiotemporal Correlation Analysis of Hydraulic Fracturing and Stroke in the United States

Abstract

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking has led to a rapid growth of oil and gas production in the United States, but the impact of fracking on public health is an important but underresearched topic. We designed a methodology to study spatiotemporal correlations between the risk of fracking and stroke mortality. An annualized loss expectancy (ALE) model is applied to quantify the risk of fracking. The geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model is used to analyze spatiotemporal correlations of stroke mortality, fracking ALE, and nine other socioeconomic- and health-related factors. The analysis shows that fracking ALE is moderately correlated with stroke mortality at ages over 65 in most states of fracking, in addition to cardiovascular disease and drug overdose being positively correlated with stroke mortality. Furthermore, the correlations between fracking ALE and stroke mortality in men appear to be higher than in women near the Marcellus Shale, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia, while stroke mortality among women is concentrated in the Great Plains, including Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Lastly, within two kilometers of the fracking mining activity, the level of benzene in the air was found to be significantly correlated with the fracking activity in Colorado.

The human health effects of unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD): A scoping review of epidemiologic studies

“…1 ). Two studies (Cairncross et al, 2022 ; Caron-Beaudoin et al, 2021 ) were set in Canada (British Columbia, Alberta), and the remainder were from US states including California, Colorado, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas, with two spanning multiple states (Hu et al, 2022 ; Li et al, 2022 ). One study was industry-funded (Fryzek et al, 2013 ), and the majority ( n = 38, 73%) were published after 2017 (Table 1 ).…”

“…Several studies incorporated upwind/downwind or uphill/downhill directionality for air and water exposure measurement (Hill & Ma, 2022 ; Johnston et al, 2021 ; Li et al, 2022 ). Some researchers included flaring events (Cushing et al, 2020 ; Koehler et al, 2018 ; Willis et al, 2020 ), compressor engine activity (Koehler et al, 2018 ), and conventional oil and gas extraction as separate exposure covariates (Apergis et al, 2021 ; Elser et al, 2021 ; Schuele et al, 2022 ; Willis et al, 2020 ), or examined annual air (Apergis et al, 2021 ; Blinn et al, 2020 ; Brown et al, 2019 ; Hill, 2018 ; Hill & Ma, 2022 ; Hu et al, 2022 ; Li et al, 2022 ; McKenzie et al, 2017 , 2019a ; Tran et al, 2021 ; Willis et al, 2018 ) and water contamination (Hill, 2018 ; Hill & Ma, 2022 ) alongside UOGD exposure metrics and/or model covariates. Two studies directly measured drinking water and/or air pollutants at participants’ residences (Elliott et al, 2018 ; Steinzor et al, 2013 ) (Table 1 ; Online Resource 2 ).…”

“…A case–control study with 12,330 participants in Pennsylvania (McAlexander et al, 2020 ) reported a significant association with heart failure hospitalizations. Additionally, a cross-sectional study (McKenzie et al, 2019b ) and ecological studies reported associations with cardiovascular (Apergis et al, 2021 ; Denham et al, 2021 ; Jemielita et al, 2015 ; Peng et al, 2018 ) and cerebrovascular outcomes (Hu et al, 2022 ). Further details on these studies are provided in Online Resource 4 .…”

“…Evidence from cohort and ecological studies suggests increased mortality rates among populations living proximal to various UOGD exposure measures (Apergis et al, 2021 ; Denham et al, 2021 ; Hu et al, 2022 ; Li et al, 2022 ). Further details on these studies are provided in Online Resource 4 .…”

Fluorescent Hydrophobic Test Strips with Sterically Integrated Molecular Rotors for the Detection of Hydrocarbons in Water and Soil with an Embedded Optical Read-Out

“…In North American active gas production areas, petroleum derivatives have been detected up to 64 mg L –1 in immediate vicinity of the petroleum well and 25 mg L –1 at a distance of 1 km. , Short-term pollution with petroleum derivatives, including n -hexane, benzenes, or other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, leads to environmental degradation and poses major risks to the health of humans and aquatic life . However, chronic exposure from recent petroleum extraction techniques is something new, and the resulting medium- or long-term effects are still being studied. − The need for long-term monitoring and high-quality, easy-to-use tests for use in resource-limited settings is of utmost importance, as this could guarantee water quality . Certified methods such as gravimetric analysis or gas chromatography with flame ionization detection for laboratory detection of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) require an extraction step into a non-polar solvent and a subsequent analysis.…”