Shale gas development and respiratory health

Grajdura, Sarah Allison

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/92844 Copy

Description

Title

Shale gas development and respiratory health

Author(s)

Grajdura, Sarah Allison

Issue Date

2016-07-20

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

• Ando, Amy
• Myers, Erica

Committee Member(s)

Khanna, Madhu

Department of Study

Agr & Consumer Economics

Discipline

Agricultural & Applied Econ

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Fracking
• Health

Abstract

"Hydraulic fracturing, or ""fracking"" has rapidly increased in areas rich in shale gas and oil in the years 2006 onwards. Areas that have undergone shale gas development are likely to be largely rural with few other air pollution point sources. Fracking operations such as well drilling, gas processing, and increased truck traffic are all predicted to contribute to localized air pollution in areas where fracking has been intensifying. Using the natural experiment of the New York fracking ban and intensifying fracking in Northeastern Pennsylvania, oil and gas well data and state inpatient respiratory records are combined to estimate the effect of various levels of shale gas development on respiratory admissions. A border exclusion was applied to account for air pollution spillovers. We find that the presence of fracking wells affects elderly respiratory hospital admissions by increasing admission rates 16-31%, and the results are robust across different levels of fracking and border exclusions."

Graduation Semester

2016-08

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/92844

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2016 Sarah Grajdura

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