Peer Reviewed Publications – PSE | Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy

County-Level Inequities in Air Pollution Reduction

Warren Stokes II — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 16:46:37 +0000

The United States has seen reductions in air pollution emissions from various sources since the enactment of the Clean Air Act (CAA) in 1970. These declines have contributed to substantial improvements in air quality nationwide, however, studies show that racial and/or ethnic and socioeconomic inequities in exposure to air pollution persist across the U.S. despite the nationwide downward trend in…

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Air Pollution and Health Impacts of Oil and Gas Production

Adrienne Underwood — Mon, 08 May 2023 22:51:55 +0000

Oil and gas production is responsible for 60 percent of the industry’s total methane emissions. While the effects of methane—a potent climate pollutant—have been studied extensively, there is limited research examining production’s impact on air quality and public health. In a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Environmental Research: Health, researchers from Boston University School of…

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Chemical Makeup of Gas Leaked from Abandoned Wells

Adrienne Underwood — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 22:24:00 +0000

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there are over 3.2 million abandoned oil and gas wells in the United States. Research has found that volatile organic compounds are emitted during oil and gas development; however, studies of abandoned wells have focused on methane emissions because of their role in climate change. In a peer-reviewed study published by the American Chemical…

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Air Pollution and Neurodegenerative Disease

Adrienne Underwood — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 22:34:35 +0000

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare neurodegenerative disease with no cure or effective treatment. Research suggests that PM2.5 exposure may contribute to other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, but few studies have evaluated the association between PM2.5 exposure and ALS. Exploring Relevant Time Windows in the Association Between PM2.5…

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Examining Natural Gas Odorants and Health Effects

Adrienne Underwood — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 22:07:09 +0000

The primary component of natural gas is methane, a highly combustible, yet completely odorless gas. Natural gas is intentionally odorized using a variety of sulfur-based odorant compounds to aid in leak detection. Without odorants, gas leaks would be completely undetectable. To date, no comprehensive assessments have been performed on toxicity or human health risks of commonly used natural gas…

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Impacts of Benzene Indoors from Gas Stove Combustion

Adrienne Underwood — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 05:49:16 +0000

A growing body of research has linked gas stoves to indoor air pollution, both from the combustion of gas and the leakage of unburned gas. These studies have primarily focused on nitrogen dioxide, which is linked to asthma and other respiratory conditions. More recently, researchers from PSE Healthy Energy have identified a range of hazardous air pollutants in unburned gas leaked from stoves…

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Potential Opportunities and Risks of Orphaned Wells

Adrienne Underwood — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 03:53:54 +0000

Research has shown that abandoned oil and gas wells contribute to air and water pollution, with nearby communities often bearing the greatest impacts. Fluids leaked below the earth’s surface can contaminate water supplies and soil, while air pollutants such as methane and benzene (a known carcinogen) may impact air quality, public safety, and climate change. In this analysis…

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The Rush to Drill for Natural Gas: A Public Health Cautionary Tale

statecreative — Sun, 01 May 2011 12:52:54 +0000

Efforts to identify alternative sources of energy have focused on extracting natural gas from vast shale deposits. The Marcellus Shale, located in western New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, is estimated to contain enough natural gas to supply the United States for the next 45 years. New drilling technology—horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing of shale (fracking)—has made gas…

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Hazardous Air Pollutant Concentrations in Interstate Pipelines

Adrienne Underwood — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 18:02:44 +0000

In the United States, interstate transmission pipelines that transport natural gas release significant quantities of unburned gas during routine operations and unintentional leaks (e.g., blowdowns and blowouts). In 2020 alone, the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that natural gas transmission infrastructure leaked over 1.4 million tons of methane—a potent greenhouse gas. Despite this…

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Editorial: Climate Change and Engineering Education

John Muchiri — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 08:01:08 +0000

Climate change requires engineers to design and build in ways that simultaneously lower greenhouse gases and make society more climate-resilient. Doing so creates new challenges and requires new skills, which engineering education must evolve to provide. Researchers from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s New Voices 2021 cohort, including PSE’s Director of Research…

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