The purpose of HEI’s Energy Research Program is to identify and conduct high-priority research on the potential population exposures and health effects from the onshore development of oil and natural gas from shale and other unconventional resources (UOGD) across the United States.

This third and final community workshop provided an opportunity for the HEI Special Scientific Committee to hear comments on the draft Strategic Research Agenda on the Impacts of 21st Century Oil and Gas Development in the Appalachian Region and Beyond from interested members of academia, industry, government, and non-governmental organizations.

This second of three community workshops provided an opportunity for the HEI Special Scientific Committee to hear from interested members of academia, industry, government, and non-governmental organizations regarding their (1) recommendations for scientific research to better understand the potential impacts of 21st century oil and gas development in the Appalachian Basin; and (2) criteria that may be used to prioritize research alternatives.

The first of three community workshops provided an opportunity for the HEI Scientific Committee to hear from interested parties regarding the potential impacts of unconventional oil and natural gas development and recommendations for scientific research to better understand them.

Watch the Recording

Research on potential exposures and health effects associated with oil and gas development should be grounded in a good understanding of not only exposure assessment, epidemiology, and the operations themselves, but also of the social implications for the communities affected by such research. 

This webinar hosted by HEI Energy reviewed the current understanding of the scale and location of abandoned and orphaned oil and natural gas wells across the United States, possible human exposures associated with releases to air and water from these wells, and the technology involved with properly abandoning oil and natural gas wells to prevent releases. All speakers addressed the question of research needs to better understand and address exposures related to abandoned and orphaned wells.

The webinar increased understanding of specific UOGD processes that might result in releases to surface water or groundwater and trends in the releases – learning from experience and looking to future changes that can influence human exposure. Releases to water might be authorized under federal or state requirements, while others might result from accidental or unauthorized events.

The webinar explored UOGD processes that might result in noise and how they are managed, state-of-the-practice principles for monitoring noise, and efforts to assess community exposures to noise from UOGD. All speakers addressed questions of research needs to better understand and address noise exposures. The webinar informed policymakers, communities, and others making health-based decisions about UOGD and academics who must factor this information into their study designs to ensure the utility of their human exposure research.

The webinar increased understanding of specific UOGD processes associated with air emissions and trends in the emissions – learning from experience and looking to future changes that can influence human exposure. The webinar informed policymakers, communities, and others making health-based decisions about UOGD and academics who must factor these trends into their study designs to ensure the utility of their human exposure research.

You are invited to a public open house on November 9, 5-7pm in Karnes City, TX, where HEI Energy will be giving an overview of our research on air quality and noise impacts from oil and gas development in the Eagle Ford Shale. Please see attached flyers (in English and Spanish) for more details.  In breif: