In the Media

Abandoned oil and gas wells can leak high levels of methane and benzene, study shows“If it’s leaking gas near where you live, work, play, you can be exposed to hazardous air pollutants,” Lebel said of abandoned wells. “It’s not just a climate concern but also a health concern.”

House passes bill to stop gas stove regulationsEric Lebel, a senior scientist for PSE Health Energy, previously told Scripps News there are two main concerns that gas stoves pose. One is that stoves can emit methane gas, which is a potent greenhouse gas.

Abandoned oil and gas wells can leak high levels of methane and benzene, study showsEric Lebel, a senior scientist at PSE Healthy Energy, said there is no safe level of exposure to benzene, citing guidelines by the World Health Organization.

Pennsylvania Expects $400 Million in Infrastructure Funds to Begin Plugging Thousands of Abandoned Oil Wells“It seems like a lot of money, but it is woefully inadequate to address this whole issue,” Seth Shonkoff, an environmental scientist who is executive director of PSE Healthy Energy, said of the federal funding.

Staying Inside Won’t Protect You from Smoke Unless the Air is Clean“It’s much easier to remove the pollution source than to try to mitigate it, or modify it, or filter it,” said Drew Michanowicz, a senior scientist with the nonprofit PSE Healthy Energy.

How the US Can Fight the Wildfire Smoke Crisis“Public health guidance and climate adaptation policies should account for the reality that many communities will be exposed to multiple hazards, sometimes concurrently,” wrote Lee Ann Hill, director of energy and health at a non-profit research institute called PSE Healthy Energy, in a Federation of American Scientists document recommending wildfire policy actions. Resilience hubs could provide relief to vulnerable communities not just during major smoke events but also extreme heat and cold, or other weather disasters.

Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Emit Carcinogens and Other Harmful Pollutants, Groundbreaking Study ShowsIn the study, researchers with the nonprofit research and policy institute PSE Healthy Energy measured both the emission rates and the concentrations of harmful VOCs coming from abandoned wells in the heart of the nation’s largest gas field, the Marcellus Shale.

Amid fracking boom, Pennsylvania faces toxic wastewater reckoning“What happens when the party stops, and there’s a huge glut of produced water?” asked Seth Shonkoff, an environmental scientist who is executive director of Physicians, Scientists and Engineers (PSE) for Healthy Energy. He said disposal of waste is “an Achilles heel of the industry.”

Lawsuit challenges Wyo gas field threatening GTNP pronghornA recently published peer-reviewed study from Boston University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, PSE Healthy Energy and the Environmental Defense Fund has found that oil and gas fields are directly impacting Wyoming’s air quality and the health of its residents.

Wyoming air quality affected by oil and gas, study findsResearchers from Boston University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, PSE Healthy Energy and the Environmental Defense Fund compared emissions of a trio of pollutants — nitrogen oxide, ozone and fine particulates — to rates of respiratory and cardiovascular hospitalization and childhood asthma in 2016.

Oil and Gas Production Linked to $77B in Annual Health Care CostsA pioneering study led by the Boston University School of Public Health, the University of North Carolina Institute for the Environment, PSE Healthy Energy, and the Environmental Defense Fund has shed light on the health impacts of air Pollution from oil and gas operations. Published in Environmental Research: Health, this research provides a wake-up call for us all.

The annual US health cost of oil and gas production is $77B – here’s how we fix thatThe study is called “Air pollution and health impacts of oil & gas production in the United States.” It was published in the journal Environmental Research: Health and was led by the Boston University School of Public Health, the University of North Carolina Institute for the Environment, PSE Healthy Energy, and the Environmental Defense Fund.