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Group 13 Fracking and Silica Dust Exposure
1. Hazards of Silica Dust Exposure
for Fracking Workers
Group 13: Marisol Chavez, Nicholas Ellinwood, Andres Guerrero, Amy
Klapheke, Mikaela Miller
EHOH 6614
April 7, 2014
2. Outline
● What is fracking?
● Who are the fracking workers?
● How are they exposed to silica dust?
● What are the health consequences of this
exposure?
● Findings from NIOSH Article
● What is being done to address this issue?
5. Fracking Workers
● 2010: 435,000 workers in the US oil and gas industry, about
half employed by well servicing companies, including those that
perform fracking.
● Non-union crews, primarily young men.
● Often housed in trailers by the drilling companies.
● 15 job titles for fracking.
o Blender Operator, Chemical Truck Operator, Fueler,
Hydration Unit Operator, Mechanic, Operator Data Van,
Pump Truck, Operator, QC Tech, Roving Operator, Sand
Coordinator, Sand Truck Driver, Sand Mover Operator, T-
belt Operator, Water Tank Operator, Wireline Operator
6. Fracking Workers
● Fracking operations are exempt from most clean air and water laws
● Most health and safety concerns have been focused on the environment--
especially groundwater contamination
● Due to lack of attention on workers’ health NIOSH initiated the Field Effort
to Assess Chemical Exposures in Oil and Gas Extraction Workers:
o Goal: develop partnerships with oil and gas industry to identify and
control workplace exposures
● Finding that workers are at risk of serious health issues due to exposures
at fracking sites-- crystalline silica exposure
7. Crystalline Silica Exposure
● Each stage of fracking involves hundreds of thousands of pounds
of crystalline silica, in the form of “frac sand.”1
● Sand is used as a proppant to hold open the fissures created by
hydraulic fracturing and allow the gas to flow out of the shale into
the well.1
● National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), “1.7
million US workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica every
year, although the true extent of the problem is likely greater” 2
8. Crystalline Silica Exposure..
● The NIOSH recommended exposure limit (REL) is 0.05 milligrams
of respirable silica per cubic meter of air (mg/m3) as a time-
weighted average (TWA) for up to a 10hr day to reduce silica
related diseases.
● In 2012, OSHA issued a hazard alert for silica after NIOSH found
excessive silica exposure at 11 sites in 5 states (Grossman, 2013).
● “Inhalation of respirable crystalline silica can cause silicosis, lung
cancer, autoimmune disorders, kidney disease, and an increased
risk of tuberculosis” (Esswein et al. 2013).
9. Crystalline Silica Health Effects
● Silicosis: irreversible, sometimes fatal, lung
disease that is only caused by inhaling respirable
silica dust. 2
● Mortality statistics undercount cases, death
certificates show an average of 162 deaths
annually from 2000-2005 (NIOSH)
● Develops over long periods of exposure,
progresses gradually
● Acute silicosis: rapidly fatal cases, have been
documented in several working groups
● Lung cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis, other
respiratory diseases
● Autoimmune disorders
Slice of Lung Affected by Silicosis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicosis
10.
11. Occupational exposures to Respirable Crystalline Silica
During Hydraulic Fracturing Article
● August 2010- September 2011, NIOSH collected 111 personal breathing
samples at 11 sites in 5 states to evaluate worker exposures to respirable
crystalline silica during hydraulic fracking.
● Workers from 15 different job titles volunteered to participate for 3
consecutive days.
● At each 11 sites, full-shift samples exceeded OSHA REL or the ACGIH TLV
by 10 or more times.
○ 93 of 111 (83.8%) of the samples exceeded the TLV.
○ 76 (68.5%) exceeded the REL.
○ 57 (51.4%) exceeded a calculated PEL for respirable dust containing
silica.
12. Occupational exposures to Respirable Crystalline
Silica During Hydraulic Fracturing Article…
1. Dust ejected from thief hatches (access ports) on top of the sand movers during
refilling operations while the machines are running (hot loading).
2. Dust ejected and pulsed through open side fill ports on the sand movers during
refilling operations
3. Dust generated by on-site vehicle traffic.
4. Dust released from the transfer belt under the sand movers.
5. Dust created as sand drops into, or is agitated in, the blender hopper and on
transfer belts.
6. Dust released from operations of transfer belts between the sand mover and the
blender;
13. Occupational exposures to Respirable Crystalline
Silica During Hydraulic Fracturing Article…
● Workers typical wore elastomeric half mask, air-purifying (or filtering-
facepiece style) respirators.
● The half-masks may not be sufficiently protective.
14. Addressing Silica Exposure
What can be done in the workplace?
Hierarchy of controls
What can agencies do?
OSHA, NIOSH, National STEPS
15. Hierarchy of Controls
Elimination of silica dust
● Proppants cannot be eliminated from
the fracking process
Elimination of hydraulic fracturing
● Fracking itself can not be eliminated,
otherwise the energy demands of the
USA will depend on expensive imports
○ 43% of total U.S. oil production
and 67% of natural gas
production comes from fracking4
● Alternative energy sources may
supplement energy supply, but will not
completely replace oil and gas anytime
soon
16. Hierarchy of Controls -
Substitution
● Alternative materials as proppants
● sintered bauxite, ceramics
● Respirable particulate matter still a
concern
● may have similarly harmful
effects
17. Hierarchy of Controls -
Engineering Controls1
● Enclose points where dust is released
● Use enclosed cabs or booths with
HEPA filters and climate controls
● Use local exhaust ventilation
● Replace transfer belts with screw
augers on sand movers in new designs
or retrofits
http://www.lubing.com/auger-conveyor.html
18. Hierarchy of Controls -
Administrative Controls1
● Mandate the capping of unused fill
ports (e.g., cam lock caps) on sand
movers.
● Reduce the drop height between the
sand transfer belt and T-belts and
blender hoppers.
● Limit the number of workers, and the
time workers must spend in areas and
consider ways to perform dusty
operations remotely
● Apply fresh water to roads and around
the well site to reduce the dust.
19. Hierarchy of Controls
Personal Protective Equipment
● Masks for all workers that meet
maximum exposure levels
o Simple measure
o Only required when exposure
exceeds the relatively high
OSHA standard
o NIOSH study found many
exposures exceeded levels
approved for masks used
20. Hierarchy of Controls
Education
● Improve training and awareness in
work force
o Various companies, short-term
contracts, and a transient work
force make education measures
not feasible
o Least effective measure in
hierarchy
21. Addressing Silica Exposure
Various controls and guidelines exist5
http://www.ussilica.com/uploads/files/product-group-msds/msds/silica-msds-english.pdf
22. Addressing Silica Exposure
No harmonized classification of crystalline silica6
TSCA No.: Appears on the EPA TSCA inventory
RCRA: Not classified as a hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
CERCLA: Not classified as a hazardous substance under Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation
and Liability Act
Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act: Not an extremely hazardous substance or a toxic chemical
Clean Air Act: Does not contain any Class I or Class II ozone depleting substances.
NTP: Classified as a known human carcinogen.
OSHA Carcinogen: Crystalline silica is not listed.
California Proposition 65: Classified as a substance known to the state of California to be a carcinogen.
California Inhalation Reference Exposure Limit (REL): The California chronic REL for respirable crystalline silica is 3
ug/m3
Massachusetts Toxic Use Reduction Act: Considered toxic
Pennsylvania Worker and Community Right to Know Act: Considered hazardous
23. Addressing Silica Exposure
● OSHA has proposed a new regulation
● Current PEL’s for crystalline silica exposure were adopted in 1971
and based on research from the 1960s
● Proposed regulation would provide consistent levels of protection
for workers in all sectors covered by the rule
● Exposures would be limited to 50 µg/m3 of respirable crystalline
silica averaged over an 8 hour day
24. Conclusion
● There are many hazards for fracking workers
● Crystalline silica exposure needs to be
controlled
● We need to work towards a standard
exposure limit
● More research!
25. Resources
OSHA. (2012). Worker Exposure to Crystalline Silica During Hydraulic Fracturing. Retrieved from
https://www.osha.gov/dts/hazardalerts/hydraulic_frac_hazard_alert.html1
Grossman, E. (2013). Silica exposure in fracking: Over 60 percent of workers may be excessively exposed. The
Pump Handle. 2
Esswein, J. E., Breitenstein, M., Snawder, J., Kiefer, M., and Sieber, K. W. (2013). Occupational Exposures to
Respirable Crystalline Silica During Hydraulic Fracturing. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. 10:
347-356.3
US Dept. of Energy. (2013). How is Shale Gas Produced? Retrieved from
http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/04/f0/how_is_shale_gas_produced.pdf.4
Proppant Specialists, LLC. (2008). Silica Sand [Material Safety and Data Sheet]. Retrieved from
http://oilandgas.ohiodnr.gov/portals/oilgas/_MSDS/fractech/Silica_Sand.pdf.5
U.S. Silica Company. (2012). Silica Sand and Ground Sand [Material Safety and Data Sheet]. Retrieved from
http://www.ussilica.com/uploads/files/product-group-msds/msds/silica-msds-english.pdf.6
