School of Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada.
School of Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada.
Sci Total Environ. 2018 Apr 1;619-620:281-290. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.099. Epub 2017 Nov 29.
The rapid expansion of unconventional natural gas production has triggered considerable public concerns, particularly regarding environmental and human health (EHH) risks posed by various chemical additives used in hydraulic fracturing (HF) operations. There is a need to assess the potential EHH hazards of additives used in real-world HF operations. In this study, HF additive and fracturing fluid data was acquired, and EHH hazards were assessed using an indexing approach. The indexing system analyzed chemical toxicological data of different ingredients contained within additives and produced an aggregated EHH safety index for each additive, along with an indicator describing the completeness of the chemical toxicological data. The results show that commonly used additives are generally associated with medium-level EHH hazards. In each additive category, ingredients of high EHH concern were identified, and the high hazard designation was primarily attributed to ingredients' high aquatic toxicity and carcinogenic effects. Among all assessed additive categories, iron control agents were identified as the greatest EHH hazards. Lack of information, such as undisclosed ingredients and chemical toxicological data gaps, has resulted in different levels of assessment uncertainties. In particular, friction reducers show the highest data incompleteness with regards to EHH hazards. This study reveals the potential EHH hazards associated with chemicals used in current HF field operations and can provide decision makers with valuable information to facilitate sustainable and responsible unconventional gas production.
非常规天然气产量的快速扩张引发了公众的极大关注，特别是水力压裂 (HF) 作业中使用的各种化学添加剂所带来的环境和人类健康 (EHH) 风险。有必要评估实际 HF 作业中使用的添加剂的潜在 EHH 危害。在这项研究中，获取了 HF 添加剂和压裂液数据，并使用索引方法评估了 EHH 危害。该索引系统分析了添加剂中不同成分的化学毒理学数据，并为每种添加剂生成了一个综合的 EHH 安全指数，以及一个描述化学毒理学数据完整性的指标。结果表明，常用添加剂通常与中等水平的 EHH 危害相关。在每个添加剂类别中，都确定了 EHH 高度关注的成分，高危害的指定主要归因于成分的高水生毒性和致癌作用。在所评估的所有添加剂类别中，铁控制剂被确定为最大的 EHH 危害。由于缺乏信息，例如未公开的成分和化学毒理学数据差距，导致评估存在不同程度的不确定性。特别是，减阻剂在 EHH 危害方面表现出最高的数据不完整性。本研究揭示了当前 HF 现场作业中使用的化学品所带来的潜在 EHH 危害，并可为决策者提供有价值的信息，以促进可持续和负责任的非常规天然气生产。
