Advisory Panel on High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing: State Resource Needs New York State Department of Health Center for

Environmental Health
September 9, 2011

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Executive Summary
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has prepared a Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) that provides for a rigorous permitting process for shale gas High Volume Hydrofracturing (HVHF). Once the SGEIS is finalized and the NYSDEC begins issuing permits for these activities, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and local health department (LHD) resources will be necessary to help support the NYSDEC regulatory program and to address perceived and actual public health issues that may arise. NYSDOH works closely with NYSDEC, although NYSDOH has the primary responsibility for assuring that the drinking water of New Yorks residents meets all regulatory requirements. NYSDOH supports many NYSDEC regulatory programs for example:: superfund/site clean-up, air source permitting, pesticide registration, fish and wildlife contamination, oil spill response, and New York City source water protection programs. We support NYSDEC efforts by assessing health risks for contaminant sources that are of high concern for NYSDEC and the public. We perform health studies and/or biomonitoring in populations near sources. We support NYSDEC in performing toxicological evaluations of chemicals for setting air guidelines. We have provided scientific, analytical, toxicological, engineering and epidemiological expertise for many program efforts in NYSDEC in the areas of climate change, least toxic commercial products, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act clean-ups, vapor intrusion, Hudson River dredging, radiological response, pharmaceutical disposal and others. We will be working closely with NYSDEC as requested when HVHF permits are issued. The HVHF regulatory effort at NYSDEC will require some immediate support from NYSDOH. As the program develops there may be more requests for NYSDOH expertise in many areas. We have divided the following presentation into resources needs for supporting NYSDEC HVHF programs in the short-term at the start-up and for the long-term. The NYSDEC HVHF regulatory program will likely have short-term start-up needs for NYSDOH expertise in the areas of human exposure and toxic substance assessment, risk assessment, Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) licensing, and health information and public education. NYSDOH will need funding support to perform these activities for NYSDEC. The long-term support that NYSDEC may need from the state and local health departments will vary depending on how the permitting program develops and the reaction of the public and others to HVHF drilling activity. Based on our experience with other programs at NYSDEC and the past concerns of the public and elected officials, NYSDEC may request that NYSDOH perform health studies and/or biomonitoring at drilling sites or over the shale drilling area. Also, as has been shown in Pennsylvania, there are likely to be work-related injuries from HVHF activities that may necessitate more occupational outreach services from NYSDOH. If there are spills of fracturing chemicals that potentially impact the environment or the public, NYSDEC may want NYSDOH expertise in evaluating the public health risks or in providing analytical chemistry services to detect chemicals that dont currently have analytical methods. NYSDEC may request more involvement of NYSDOH in site assessment and monitoring programs. If
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 NYSDEC requires a greater field presence of NYSDOH and its District Offices there will be a need for additional District Office staff and field coordinators. The tasks outlined above may require NYSDOH resources and NYSDEC will need to assess these needs with NYSDOH as the program develops.

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Introduction
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has prepared a Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) that provides for a rigorous permitting process for shale gas High Volume Hydrofracturing (HVHF). The process includes a review of each drilling application before any drilling in order to identify any environmental sensitivities and a review of the proposed well design to determine that it is protective. It also includes on-site inspection of actual drilling operations. Specific measures to protect the state's drinking water include prohibiting surface drilling: within 2,000 feet of public drinking water supplies; on the state's 18 primary aquifers and within 500 feet of their boundaries; within 500 feet of private wells, unless waived by landowner; in floodplains; on principal aquifers without site-specific reviews; and within the Syracuse and New York City watersheds. The SGEIS includes strong spill prevention and storm water management controls that will provide additional protections. Operators will be required to disclose all products and product combinations used in the high-volume hydraulic fracturing process and to evaluate the use of alternative products that pose less potential risk. NYSDECs rigorous regulatory process will likely mitigate the types of problems reported to have occurred in other states. However, this is a new activity and there is considerable public concern about its impact. Once the SGEIS is finalized and the NYSDEC begins issuing permits for these activities, NYSDOH and local health department (LHD) resources may be necessary to help support the NYSDEC regulatory program and to address any potential public health issues that may arise. NYSDOH supports many NYSDEC regulatory programs. For example, we work closely with NYSDEC in the following programs: 1. Superfund/site clean-up program. We work closely with NYSDEC to assess, monitor and mitigate exposures at these sites. We provide a liaison to the public for health information about chemicals, site exposures and risks. We perform health studies where there have been known or potential human exposures, unusual occurrence of disease or a high level of public concern. We developed the methodology for the Soil Clean-up Objectives for the Brownfield Cleanup Program. 2. Air source permitting program. We support NYSDEC efforts by assessing health risks for air sources that are of high concern for NYSDEC and the public. We perform health studies and/or biomonitoring in populations near sources. We support NYSDEC in performing toxicological evaluations of chemicals for setting air guidelines. 3. Pesticide registration. We perform toxicological reviews of pesticide products that are undergoing evaluation by NYSDEC for potential registration in New York.
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 4. Fish and wildlife contamination. We work closely with NYSDEC to monitor and assess fish and wildlife contamination by chemicals or pathogens. We use NYSDEC data to develop consumption advisories for fish and wildlife. 5. Oil spill program. We work closely with NYSDEC when oil spills have impacted indoor air of residences, commercial or other buildings to evaluate the need for evacuation and remediation. Through the NYS Environmental Protection and Spill Compensation Fund (Oil Spill Fund) and the NYSDOH Emergency Oil Spill Relocation Network, we work with the NYS Comptroller to provide the funds for temporary re-location of residents if necessary. 6. New York City Source Water Protection. We work closely with NYSDEC to assess, evaluate and implement source water protection programs in New York City watershed. 7. We have provided scientific, analytical, toxicological, engineering and epidemiological expertise for many program efforts in NYSDEC in the areas of climate change, least toxic commercial products, RCRA clean-ups, vapor intrusion, Hudson River dredging, radiological response, pharmaceutical disposal and others. We will work closely with NYSDEC as requested when HVHF permits are issued. We expect that NYSDEC will request NYSDOH expertise in many areas of the HVHF program. In some cases, the public may also request our involvement in examining issues related to HVHF activities. We will work closely with NYSDEC to define our role in addressing HVHF issues. The HVHF regulatory effort at NYSDEC will require some immediate support from NYSDOH. As the program develops there may be more requests for NYSDOH expertise in other areas. We have divided the following presentation into resources needs for supporting NYSDEC HVHF programs at the start-up and for the long-term.

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HVHF Health Program Needs

The NYSDEC HVHF regulatory program will likely have start-up needs for NYSDOH expertise in the areas of human exposure and toxic substance assessment, risk assessment, the licensing program associated with Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM), and health information and public education. NYSDOH will need funding support to perform these activities for NYSDEC. These activities are described below.

1. Drinking Water, Human Exposure Investigation and Health Communication

It is likely that state and local health departments will work with NYSDEC to assess any potential human exposures and assist in any public health interventions. A key function for NYSDOH would be to provide information and advice on any potential exposures and health effects to citizens, elected officials, and health care providers. Additionally, NYSDEC is likely to request that NYSDOH work with any concerned community members to address any potential exposure and public health concerns prior to, during or after drilling activities. Activities are likely to include: Communicate and distribute informational materials (e.g., fact sheets), to inform and educate community members living near drilling activities about matters related to public health and HVHF Disseminate results of any studies/assessments/evaluations to educate stakeholders, including but not limited to communities, policy makers, and senior managers Investigate health-based complaints from homeowners whose wells have been tested or who report changes in their water quality (whether they had been tested prior to drilling or not)

The following activities may be required depending on the final SGEIS requirements and the needs of the HVHF program once it is implemented. NYSDOH may be called upon to: Provide engineering and technical expertise for private and public water systems to address any problems identified during baseline and post drilling monitoring Compile and evaluate private well data collected by the gas drilling companies in order to characterize potential human health implications

2. Toxic Substance Assessment

Whether or not there is a spill, public inquiries about drilling chemicals and our past experience with other NYSDEC programs suggest there will be a need for assessments of the potential toxicity of hydrofracking chemicals and/or wastes. NYSDEC or the public will likely request support and advice on the human health and toxicity evaluations of the constituents of hydrofracking products. NYSDEC proposes to require each drilling permit application to document the applicant's evaluation of alternative additive products that "are efficacious but which exhibit reduced aquatic toxicity and pose less risk to water resources and the environment." Applicants will be required to use available environmentally-preferable alternatives unless they can demonstrate "to NYSDECs Division of Mineral Resources satisfaction" that they are not equally effective or feasible. NYSDEC or the public will likely request the following support from NYSDOH:
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 Review human health relevant information (including fate, transport, toxicity, analytical chemistry and biomonitoring information) on existing and newly proposed hydraulic fracturing constituents and products. This will require updating and keeping abreast of new information from federal, state and literature sources for the many constituents proposed by the industry. Review human health relevant information on naturally occurring substances (e.g., bromide, radon) that may be released during hydrofracking activities and lead to possible human exposure. Review chemical constituents of newly proposed hydraulic fracturing products to determine whether each chemical is a principal or unspecified organic contaminant under the State Sanitary Code, Part 5, Drinking Water Standards. Review sampling data to assess potential human health risks in the context of exposure and toxicity information. This may include data from baseline and follow-up private well water sampling, public water supply sampling, surface water sampling and sampling of flowback and produced water in connection with natural gas development activities. Respond to public health complaints that require toxicity and exposure assessment. Assist in developing future, proposed changes to rules regulating natural gas development activities.

NYSDOH will be handling the Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) licensing program for the HVHF drilling sites. NYSDOH has the authority to issue radioactive materials licenses for drilling site activities once certain NORM thresholds are reached. This program is primarily a worker protection program but will also include consultation for spill response and public outreach on NORM as necessary. The activities the NYSDOH will be required to perform include: Radiological licensing of NORM o Review and evaluate radiation survey data of piping and equipment collected by the gas drilling company as required by the permit o Prepare radioactive materials license(s) for those locations that meet the criteria to require licensing o Inspect selected sites for verification of survey data o Review the need of radioactive material licenses from waste treatment plants that may consider treating the brine/flowback prior to disposal o Respond to health and safety concerns from workers regarding radiation levels, and handling of NORM o Act as a resource for emergency responders reacting to any spills/accidents o Respond to incidents and concerns from members of the public

3. Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) Licensing

4. NYSDOH Program Support Activities

The activities described above will require additional program support at NYSDOH.

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 Information Systems Provide technological support services including database development related to the various activities related to oversight and monitoring of permitted HVHF installations. Clerical Provide support for the activities listed above including document preparation, filing, scheduling meetings, answering phones, etc. The long-term support that NYSDEC may need from the state and local health departments will vary depending on how the permitting program develops and the reaction of the public and others to HVHF drilling activity. Based on our experience with other programs at NYSDEC and the past concerns of the public and elected officials, NYSDEC may request that NYSDOH perform health studies and/or biomonitoring at drilling sites or over the shale drilling area. Requests for these types of studies are not uncommon and this type of work has been done in relation to other NYSDEC programs. Also, as has been shown in Pennsylvania, there are likely to be more occupational related injuries from HVHF activities that may necessitate occupational outreach services from NYSDOH. If there are spills of fracturing chemicals that potentially impact the environment or the public, NYSDEC will likely rely on NYSDOHs expertise in evaluating the public health risks or in providing analytical chemistry services to detect chemicals that dont currently have analytical methods. NYSDEC may request more involvement of NYSDOH in site assessment and monitoring programs. If NYSDEC requires a greater field presence of NYSDOH and its District Offices there will be a need for additional District Office staff and field coordinators. The tasks outlined above may require NYSDOH resources, and NYSDEC will need to assess these needs with NYSDOH as the program develops. In the past NYSDOH has been asked to perform population health studies near industrial sites, hazardous waste sites, air emission sources and other perceived or real sources of chemical exposure. In some cases, studies needed to be performed even when there was little evidence of exposure, either because there was evidence of unusual rates or occurrence of illness or disease or because of a high degree of public concern. The NYSDOH Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology may be called upon to develop strategies and methods for studying the potential public health impacts of hydrofracking , which may include: Prepare health outcome data reviews as described in NYSDECs environmental permitting application process if required by NYSDEC (i.e., consistent with the requirements of NYSDEC Commissioner Policy 29). Conduct environmental health community studies to investigate human health concerns associated with hydrofracking such as: Health Statistics Review: A type of epidemiologic study that uses available health outcome and demographic data to determine if rates of disease within a community with potential exposures are higher than those in the general population. This includes determining the social and economic status of communities near hydrofracking projects.
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5. Population Health Studies

 Establish a surveillance system that can track health outcomes in populations potentially affected by hydrofracking. As part of our responsibilities for the NYS Congenital Malformations Registry, conduct a literature review to better understand whether accidental releases of chemicals in connection with hydrofracking might have potential impacts on acute, chronic, or reproductive health outcomes.

Additional Health Studies The NYSDOH may also be asked to perform more sophisticated analytical epidemiology studies if requested. Additional funding would be required to complete these studies. There are several types of studies including: Linkage studies that evaluate whether there may be a relationship (linkage) between environmental exposures believed to have resulted from associated with hydrofracking and health outcomes o Data Linkage Study: this study links data from multiple sources on health outcomes, exposures, and demographics as well as data collected from interviews and questionnaires. Data can be analyzed at individual level or small geography unit (such as census block) to determine whether there is a relationship between exposure and disease. Cohort studies are used for long-term follow-up, investigating the life-cycle impacts of hydrofracking o Cohort Study: this study is a long-term study where participants are followed over a number of years or even several decades. This type of study compares disease among two groups: those with known exposures to specific substances and those with no known exposures but with similar demographic characteristics. Both populations are followed over a period of time to determine who develops illnesses and who does not. Biomonitoring studies determine whether communities affected by hydrofracking experience chemical burdens different from a comparable population. Biomonitoring would be an additional cost, and the cost would, in part, depend on the type of samples collected (e.g., blood, urine, exhaled breath).

Based on past experience assisting the NYSDEC, there may be a need for rapid, internal laboratory determinations of analytes contained in hydrofracking fluids, drilling muds, and natural gas industry wastes (e.g., brine), as well as in environmental samples. NYSDEC, and potentially other entities such as municipalities, may request the following support from NYSDOH: Development of methods for the determination of analyte concentrations in hydrofracking fluids, drilling muds and natural gas industry wastes, as well as in samples of drinking water, surface water, soil, sediment and biota. Laboratory analyses of natural gas industry materials and wastes to characterize the properties and components of those materials.

6. NYSDOH Analytical Laboratory Services

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Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry Laboratory staff determinations of inorganic and radiological analyte concentrations in samples, including quantification of barium, bromides, radon, and naturally-occurring radioactive materials. Organic Analytical Laboratory staff determinations of organic analyte concentrations, including concentrations of hydrocarbons associated with well development and fossil fuel deposits. Environmental Biology Laboratory staff determinations of microbiological contamination, including Escherichia coli and other bacterial counts, in well water and surface water samples collected as part of environmental monitoring associated with natural gas development. Development of analytical reference materials and quality control materials for interlab comparability and assessment of laboratory proficiency.

If spills or other accidental releases associated with HVHF activities occur (this could include wastes, hydrofracturing constituents, petroleum products or other materials), NYSDEC may want to consult with NYSDOH to assess possible exposures and risks to the public. NYSDOH has expertise in toxicological assessment, exposure assessment, risk assessment and vapor intrusion that has been relied upon in the past to help NYSDEC, local emergency responders, State Emergency Operations Management and others to deal with the response, assess possible public health risks and derive clean-up goals for contaminated environmental media. Examples of this kind of support are detailed below: Provide toxicity information to evaluate the potential public health risks resulting from any spills, blowouts and other accidents in connection with natural gas development activities. Provide advice as needed related to any fish kills associated with releases (e.g., brine) or spills to waterways. Assess indoor air impacts in homes from spills: o Coordinate logistics when a petroleum spill is involved o Provide advice on possible vapor intrusion issues if a volatile substance may migrate into the area of homes. Issues that may lead to NYSDOH involvement include any: Spills from wellhead activities Spills related to trucking of drilling fluids Impacts to drinking water wells (e.g., addressing methane) Subsurface migration of chemicals leading to vapor intrusion into homes.

7. Spills Support

Staci Covey, President of Troy Community Hospital in Pennsylvania in a presentation entitled Local Experiences Related to the Marcellus Shale Industry dated May 10, 2011 stated that Marcellus activities resulted in an increase in outpatient volume and an increase in industry related injuries and exposures. In 2006, in the United States there were 123 fatalities in the oil and natural gas well drilling industry. Some of the causal factors include: contact with objects and equipment, exposure to harmful substances or work environments, fires and explosions.
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8. Worker Health and Safety

 According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health this industry has an annual occupational fatality rate eight times higher than the rate for all U.S. workers. If it becomes clear that additional outreach is required to protect the health and safety of workers, NYSDOH may be called on to implement the following activities: Explore the feasibility of establishing a public health registry for this industry to help determine how, where and why incidents occur o Explore the usefulness of medical monitoring for occupational exposures from the industry. Work with industry groups to develop engineering and process controls to minimize the risks to workers from potentially dangerous machinery during drilling and servicing activities. Develop and recommend occupational corrective measures such as product substitution, engineering controls, administrative and work practice controls, and necessary personal protective equipment. Assist in implementing the measures as needed.

Additional resources may be required in the local (county) health departments and in NYSDOH District Offices. NYSDOH District Offices perform local health department functions in counties where local health departments do not have environmental health programs. The District Offices are funded through the state budget. Therefore local support resources may be necessary for the counties and NYSDOH. These offices may be called upon to address potential private well contamination issues, air pollution, noise, sanitation and general public health nuisance complaints (e.g., solid waste disposal) and may make site inspections. Resources for these activities must also be provided at the state level. These needs will be detailed in the near future.

9. Local Health Department Needs

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