Exposure Hazards in Oil and Gas Extraction Workers ......Flowback and Production Testing...
Transcript of Exposure Hazards in Oil and Gas Extraction Workers ......Flowback and Production Testing...
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Exposure Hazards in Oil and GasExtraction Workers:
Flowback and Production Testing(Completions Operations)
Bradley King, PhD, MPH, CIHNIOSH Western States Office
WestONSeptember 12, 2014
Golden, CO
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Disclaimer
The findings and conclusions in this presentationare those of the author(s) and do not necessarilyrepresent the views of the National Institute forOccupational Safety and Health.
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NIOSH Field Effort to AssessChemical Exposure Risks toOil and Gas Workers
www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-130/
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What is Flowback?
Process fluids from wellbore returnto the surface and are collectedafter hydraulic fracturing iscompleted.
Returned fluids can contain volatilehydrocarbons from the formationand treatment chemicalsused during hydraulic fracturing.
Risks for exposures: measuringflow, gauging tanks, working aroundtanks and process fluids
http://carpinteriavalleyassociation.org/2012/09/frack-attack-new/
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Field Visits: Spring/Summer 2013
•Six sites in Colorado and Wyoming– Fields: Piceance, Jonah, DJ Basin
– Worker activities: Flowback, Production watch, Watertransport, Lease operations
1. Identify processes/activities that may poseexposure risks
2. Identify sources of exposures
3. Assess exposures
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Workers Evaluated
•Flowback Tech
–gauging/strappingflowback tanks
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Workers Evaluated
•Flowback Leadman
–monitoring/operating separator
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Workers Evaluated
•Production Watch
–gaugingproduction tanks
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Industrial Hygiene Methods
1. Full-shift and short-term samples for VOCs(e.g., benzene), PAHs, alcohols,glutaraldehyde, and silica/respirable dust
•Sorbent media and filters
•Personal breathing zone (PBZ) and area air samples
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Industrial Hygiene Methods
1. Full-shift and short-term samples for VOCs(e.g., benzene), PAHs, alcohols,glutaraldehyde, and silica/respirable dust
1. Sorbent media and filters
2. Personal breathing zone (PBZ) and area air samples
2. Spot measurements for VOCs and benzene1. Real-time, direct reading instruments
2. PBZ and area air samples
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Industrial Hygiene Methods
1. Full-shift and short-term samples for VOCs(e.g., benzene), PAHs, alcohols,glutaraldehyde, and silica/respirable dust
1. Sorbent media and filters
2. Personal breathing zone (PBZ) and area air samples
2. Spot measurements for VOCs and benzene1. Real-time, direct reading instruments
2. PBZ and area air samples
3. Lower explosive limits (LEL) monitoring
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Occupational Exposure Limits*: BenzeneExposure Limit Limit Values
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) - General Industry
1 part per million (ppm) time-weighted
average (TWA)
5 ppm short-term exposure limit (STEL)
OSHA PEL –
Sectors Excluded from General Industry
10 ppm TWA
25 ppm Ceiling
50 ppm Maximum peak above ceiling (10
minutes)
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Recommended Exposure Limit (REL)
0.1 ppm TWA
1 ppm STEL
500 ppm immediately dangerous to life or
health (IDLH)
Ca (potential occupational carcinogen); Skin
American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)
Threshold Limit Value (TLV) (2013)
0.5 ppm TWA
2.5 ppm STEL
A1 (confirmed human carcinogen); Skin; BEI
(Biological Exposure Index)
*based on an 8-hour TWA, 40 hour work week
*based on an 8-hour TWA, 40 hour work week
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Spot Measurement, Headspace of Tanks
• Flowback tank (no controls)–VOCs: 10–2000 ppm
–Benzene : 0–>250 ppm
• Flowback tanks (with controls)–Reduced Emissions Completions
(REC)
–VOCs: 10–400 ppm
–Benzene: 0–30 ppm
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Spot Measurements, Headspace of Tanks
• Production tanks
–VOCs: 10–>2000 ppm
–Benzene: 0–>300 ppm
• Water tanks
–VOCs: 10–200 ppm
–Benzene: 0–>40 ppm
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Full-shift Personal Breathing ZoneBenzene Measurements
TWA Range: Not Detected–0.65 ppm
* P < 0.05, Student’s t test
• p< 0.05 (Student’s t test),for gaugers vs. non-gaugers
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Worker Benzene Biomonitoring
•s-PMA Range: 0–20.9 µg creatinine
•Summary stats:
–Average for workers gauging tanks:
6.1 ± 5.3 µg creatinine (n=17)
–Average for workers not gauging tanks:
2.5 ± 3.9 µg creatinine (n=18)
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Example 1: Patterns of Exposure during Gauging(temporal and spatial)
Worker gauging once per hour vs. Worker not gauging– Peak VOC = 537 ppm Peak VOC = 23.5 ppm
– TWA VOC = 5.89 ppm TWA VOC = 0.203 ppm
– TWA Benzene = 0.23 ppm TWA Benzene = 0.01 ppm
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VOC ppm
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Q. Why were the gauging worker’s peak exposures so high?
A. This worker did not consistently gauge standing on top of thetank. Gauging from ladder reduces distance to source resulting inhigher exposures.
149 ppm Benzene at 18 inchesabove hatch
1.2 ppm Benzene at54 inches above hatch
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Example 2: Patterns of Exposure during Gauging(temporal and spatial)
Worker gauging 2x each hour vs. Worker not gauging– Peak VOC = 523 ppm Peak VOC = 42.9 ppm
– TWA VOC = 20.2 ppm TWA VOC = 1.87 ppm
– TWA Benzene = 0.45 ppm TWA Benzene = 0.05 ppm
0
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VOC ppm
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Q. Why were the gauging worker’s exposures so high?
A. Worker was very careful to sample at his full height abovehatches. However, he spent the entire shift on top of the tank inhydrocarbon plume.
Open Hatch
Worker’s Bucket
bucket
Open Hatch
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Example 4: Patterns of Exposure Downwind of Tanks(temporal and spatial)
Immediately downwind of flowback tank (10 meters)– Very early stage of flowback
– PBZ Peak VOC = 220 ppm
– PBZ TWA VOC = 46.8 ppm
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VOC ppm
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Q. Why were these exposures elevated?
A. Sampling location was less than 10 meters from tank, while plugs
were being drilled. Potential for very high release of hydrocarbons.
– Area Peak VOC = 200 ppm
– Area TWA VOC = 17.1 ppm
– Area TWA Benzene = 1.1 ppm
Hot fluid level
VOCs
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Other Compounds Monitored• Glutaraldehyde:• Glutaraldehyde:
–All PBZ and area samples below limit of detection(LOD), except for one
–one PBZ sample returned a trace concentration
• Propargyl Alcohol:–All area samples below LOD, except for one–one area sample returned result of 0.0043 ppm
• Methanol:–All area samples below LOD
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Other Compounds Monitored
•PAHs:
–Napthalene detected in multiple samples at partsper billion (ppb) range
•Silica and respirable dust:
–All PBZ samples below NIOSH, OSHA, ACGIH OELs,except for one
•This one sample was invalid due to accidentalcontamination
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Flammable/Explosive Hazards
•Direct reading instruments showed manyinstances of short term excursions measuringas high as 40% of the Lower Explosive Limit(LEL)
–especially while drilling plugs and during snubbing
–measured near areas of flowback tanks,separators, and tank batteries
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Conclusions
•Risks for VOC, benzene exposures:
–spatial and temporal variables
–intermittent, task-based
•Gauging tanks:
–highest risk for exposures, contributes to highestTWAs
–only few minutes, repeated throughout day
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Conclusions (cont’d.)
•Potential for exposures:
–dependent on proximity to sources
•pad perimeter monitoring, very low levels of total VOCs
•Potential for exposure varies:
–formation, basin
–“Age” of well, notable factor for exposures
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Conclusions (cont’d.)
•Controls are available
–Reduced Emissions Completions (i.e., ‘greencompletions’): appears to reduce potential forexposures through containment
Portable REC equipment Source: https://www.globalmethane.org/expo-docs/india10/postexpo/oil_robinson.pdf
Portable REC equipment Source: https://www.globalmethane.org/expo-docs/india10/postexpo/oil_robinson.pdf
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Conclusions (cont’d.)
•Potential for exposures to other analytesmeasured during flowback appeared to be low
•Flammable/explosive hazards can exist due tothe presence of combustible gas peaksdetected
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Request for Assistance
Additional field research required•Additional field research required
•Requesting additional industry partners toassist in further evaluating sites, locations, andactivities
•These results are preliminary
•Communication of initial research results:NIOSH Science Blog, journal article,conference presentations
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Questions?
Alice Hamilton, M.D.Mother of U.S. Occupational Medicine1869–1970
Email:[email protected]