New Study on Pregnant Women Living Near Frac’d Natural Gas Sites in Peace River Valley, NE BC Raises Concerns: Benzene biomarker (muconic acid) in urine 3.5 times higher than in women in general Canadian population

Exposure to benzene during pregnancy: a pilot study raises concerns in British Columbia by University of Montreal, November 13, 2017, ScienceDaily

Summary:
New research reveals that 29 pregnant women living near natural-gas hydraulic fracturing sites had a median concentration of a benzene biomarker in their urine that was 3.5 times higher than that found in women from the general Canadian population.

FULL STORY
Peace River Valley, in northeastern British Columbia, has become known in recent years as a place of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas — “fracking,” as it’s commonly called. What are the health impacts related to living near fracking sites where contaminants, including volatile organic compounds, are released? To try to answer that question, Élyse Caron-Beaudoin, a postdoctoral researcher at the Université de Montréal Public Health Research Institute, studied a group of pregnant women who live in the area. Her results were published this week in Environment International.

High concentrations of muconic acid — a degradation product of benzene (a volatile, toxic and carcinogenic compound) — were detected in the urine of 29 pregnant women who participated in the pilot study. Their median concentration of muconic acid was approximately 3.5 times higher in these women than in the general Canadian population.

In five of the 29 participants, the concentration of muconic acid surpassed the biological exposure index (BEI), a measure developed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) to protect the health of people in the workplace. Caron-Beraudoin informed the five women of the results and communicated with their attending physicians. Guidelines of acceptable amounts of muconic acid in urine exist only for the workplace; there are none for the general population.

Not beyond a reasonable doubt

“Although the levels of muconic acid found in the participants’ urine cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they were exposed to high levels of benzene, these results do clearly demonstrate the importance of exploring human exposure to environmental contaminants in natural-gas (fracking) regions,” said Marc-André Verner, the lead researcher on the study. Verner is a professor at Université de Montréal’s School of Public Health and specializes in toxicological risk assessment.

“Muconic acid is also a degradation product of sorbic acid, which is often used as a preservative in the food industry,” said Caron-Beaudoin. “However, we believe that diet alone is unlikely to explain the concentrations we found in our participants. A more extensive study needs to be conducted with additional measures — to test the air and drinking water, for example — to confirm or refute the results of our pilot study.”

Health hazards of benzene include birth defects

The health impacts of benzene are well-documented. “High exposure to benzene during pregnancy is associated with low birth weight, an increased risk of childhood leukemia and a greater incidence of birth defects such as spina bifida,” said Caron-Beaudoin. “We were therefore very concerned when we discovered high levels of muconic acid in the urine of pregnant women.”

It should be noted that there are multiple routes of exposure to benzene, including inhaling cigarette smoke, filling your car’s gas tank, driving, and drinking benzene-contaminated water.

“Many reports have been written on the contamination of air and water by volatile organic compounds near natural-gas well sites,” said Verner, who is also a researcher at the Public Health Research Institute. “Northeastern British Columbia is a region that supports the use of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. Despite the fact that many chemicals used or emitted by this industry are toxic to humans, no biological monitoring programs have been implemented in the region.”

Indigenous people at the root of the study

Why did Quebec researchers lead a study exploring a public-health issue that mainly concerns people in Western Canada? Good question, Caron-Beaudoin replied. “At a conference, Professor Verner and I learned that certain indigenous communities, including the West Moberly First Nations, were concerned about the contaminants released by the many natural-gas sites on their territory, and about how this was affecting people’s health. They were looking for researchers to conduct a formal impact study. We expressed our interest, but were very surprised that this kind of study had never been carried out before.”

Among the pilot study’s 29 participants, 14 were indigenous. Results revealed that the median concentration of muconic acid in the urine of these 14 women was 2.3 times higher than in non-indigenous participants, and six times higher than in women from the general Canadian population. However, it is important to note that the different levels found in indigenous and non-indigenous participants was not statistically significant, possibly due to the small number of women involved. A study with a larger sample size would be necessary to verify if this difference is significant.

‘Environmental racism’ — a new concept

Nonetheless, these results raise the issue of “environmental racism,” a concept that is being increasingly explored by public-health researchers. Environmental racism refers to intentional or unintentional discrimination in the development and implementation of environmental policy, which disproportionately favours the installation of facilities that are potentially harmful to human health in areas populated by cultural minorities and in low-income communities.

For example, a study done in 2016 in Texas (Johnston et al., 2016*) revealed that wells used to dispose of wastewater coming from hydraulic fracturing sites were disproportionately permitted near communities with higher proportions of people of colour.

“Environmental injustice is a major concern, particularly in indigenous communities where health inequalities are already an issue,” said Verner.

A large-scale study now needed

What’s next? Caron-Beaudoin and Verner have applied for funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to conduct a major study of 100 pregnant women, using the same research methodology as in their pilot study. The study will involve doing an analysis not only of benzene biomarkers and other volatile organic compounds, but also of certain heavy metals in urine and hair samples. An environmental analysis of the participants’ exposure to contaminants in the air and water will also be conducted. The data will then be modeled by Verner to estimate the fetal concentrations of these compounds, and thus more adequately measure the effects this type of exposure has on fetal development.

A second study led by Caron-Beaudoin will examine the medical data of approximately 6,000 babies born in the region over the past 10 years. “The goal is to assess the overall health of the babies (birth weight, pre-term births, head circumference and the prevalence of certain congenital birth defects) in relation to their proximity to natural-gas well sites and the number of active wells in their environment,” the researcher said. [Emphasis added]

Story Source: Materials provided by University of Montreal

Journal Reference:

Gestational exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Northeastern British Columbia, Canada: A pilot study by Élyse Caron-Beaudoin, Naomi Valter, Jonathan Chevrier, Pierre Ayotte, Katherine Frohlich, and Marc-André Verner, Environment International, 2018; 110: 131 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2017.10.022

Refer also to:

2017 07 014: Cumulative impacts from too much toxic oilfield waste dumped in water bodies, “spread” on pastures, cropland and roads? Over 200 cattle found dead in SW Saskatchewan pasture; Tests found 24,000 mg/l sulphate & 33,400 mg/l dissolved solids in dugout water. Chief veterinary officer suggests lack of rain & evaporation to blame

2016 12 13: Harmful Levels Benzene, CO2 Detected at MidWest School Surrounded by 744 Active & Abandoned Oil Wells Within 1 Mile Radius, Including CO2 Injection Wells for Enhanced Recovery by Anadarko, Now Owned by Fleur de lis

2016 08 26: Two new peer-reviewed studies published after Florida significantly increases toxic chemicals allowed dumped in waterways: 1) Chemicals used in fracking, other gas, oil operations increase risk of miscarriages, reduced male fertility, prostate cancer, birth defects, preterm birth by disrupting hormones; 2) Lit review shows increased risk of negative reproductive effects from exposure to fracking, other oil, gas extraction activities, especially for miscarriages, reduced semen quality, prostate cancer, birth defects, preterm birth

2015 10 01: Another study showing serious frac harm: Women near frac sites 40 per cent more likely to give birth prematurely, and 30 per cent increase in chance that an obstetrician had labeled their pregnancy high-risk

2015 06 24: Feed benzene, petroleum hydrocarbons, acetone, methylene chloride to your loved ones? In California almonds, artichokes, olives, garlic, broccoli, nectarines, canned tomatoes, celery, apricots, strawberries, cauliflower?

2015 06 19: Fracking in Utah. What’s Killing the Babies of Vernal: A Fracking Boomtown, a spike in stillborn deaths and a gusher of unanswered questions

2015 06 03: Another New Study Showing Frac Harm: ‘Fracking’ Linked to Low Birth Weight Babies, Pregnant women who live near multiple natural gas wells tend to have smaller infants

2015 05 22: Encana well blowout after fracking leaves oily mess of spewing natural gas, propane, butane, benzene and toluene, forces 2 dozen families from their homes in Karnes County, Evacuees anxious to see the damage to their homes

2015 02 10: How regulators “regulate” to make fracing safe: Let industry inject toxic frac waste into federally protected drinking water aquifers; “Levels of benzene up to 700 times federal standard have been found in waste water from fracking”

2014 12 09: Shell May Nix $90M Legal Settlement With Carson, California, Contaminated with Methane and Benzene, Because Gag Order Breached

2014 10 02: Benzene Exposure Near the US Permissible Limit Is Associated With Sperm Aneuploidy

2014 08 29: U.S.Centers for Disease Control Preliminary Study: Finds dangerous levels of benzene in frac workers’ urine; Imagine the urine of children living beside frac’ing

2014 06 10: This Fracking Study Should Scare Livestock Farmers Senseless

2014 04 30: New study links fracking to birth defects in heavily drilled Colorado, Risks of some birth defects increased as much as 30 percent in mothers who lived near oil and gas wells

2014 04 12: Oil Company blamed for benzene contamination and panic after Chinese city of Lanzhou declares tap water toxic, Residents flock to stores to stock up on bottled water

2014 04 03 Colorado Investigates a Spike in Fetal Abnormalities Near Natural Gas Drilling Site, A prevalence of anomalies such as low birth weight and congenital heart defects are found within a 10 mile radius of a concentration of gas wells

2014 01 29: Federal judge excuses Shell’s pollution of Illinois town’s groundwater with carcinogen benzene 26,000 times greater than allowed by state law

2013 12 26: Where are the regulators in America? Inspector general’s report says EPA justified investigating drinking water contaminated with dangerous levels of methane and benzene near fracking

2013 12 18: Hormone-disrupting chemicals found in ground and surface water at fracking sites, Peer reviewed study of fracking sites in Garfield County Colorado finds chemicals linked to infertility, birth defects and cancer

2013 11 12: Garfield County commissioners, public hear results of 9 year study after regulator determined Encana contaminated West Divide Creek with methane and benzene

2013 10: Howard Hawkwood and one of his many dead cows in heavily frac’d field NW of Calgary, Alberta

2013 09 03: Evidence Presented by Encana to 41st PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Standing Committee Natural Resources; Encana taking step to stop frac’ing with benzene, diesel, chromium, arsenic, mercury etc [“Taking step” means what? Did they stop frac’ing with benzene, etc? Or, is Encana still frac’ing with benzene?]

2013 08 27: Extreme Levels of Benzene Floating Around Gas Wells and Compressor Stations; Fracking effects: A long-term study of drilling’s impact shows harmful health effects

2012 07 19: Link Between Low Birth Weight and Fracking, Says New Research

2012 03 14: Prof: Fracking Fluid Harmful To Animal Health

2011 12 27: Quarantined Cows Exposed to Frac Fluid Waste Give Birth to Dead Calves

2009: 16 Cattle Drop Dead Near Mysterious Fluid at Gas Drilling Site

Jim Hudelson/The (Shreveport) Times

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