Assessing Unconventional Oil and Gas Exposure in the Appalachian Basin: Comparison of Exposure Surrogates and Residential Drinking Water Measurements
Cassandra J. Clark, Boya Xiong, Mario Soriano, Kristina M. Gutchess, Helen Siegel, Emma Ryan, Nicholaus P. Johnson, Kelsie Cassell, Elise G. Elliott, Yunpo Li, Austin J. Cox, Nicolette Bugher, Lukas Glist, Rebecca J. Brenneis, Keli Sorrentino, Julie Plano, Xiaomei Ma, Joshua L. Warren, Desirée L. Plata, James E. Saiers, Nicole C. Deziel
Abstract
xylene (OR: 0.28, 95% CI: 0.10-0.80); results were consistent across metrics. In Ohio, the odds of detecting toluene increased with increasing distance to the nearest well (OR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.12-1.95), also consistent across metrics. Correlations between inorganic chemicals and metrics were limited (all |ρ| ≤ 0.28). Limited associations between metrics and chemicals may indicate that UOG-related water contamination occurs rarely/episodically, more complex metrics may be needed to capture drinking water exposure, and/or spatial metrics in health studies may better reflect exposure to other stressors.