Air Quality in the Barnett Shale - Part 10: How not to describe Toluene

So here I am on my 10th rant...err, I mean post.  What started all of this was a simple Google search looking for information on air quality and oil & gas exploration/production involving frac'ing in Texas.  What I found mentioned over and over again mentioned sampling performed in the Town of DISH, Texas by Wolf Eagle Environmental.  Reading their report, written by an MPH named Alisa Rich, I come across a number of descriptions as to the hazards posed by the contaminants detected in the seven samples they took in the Town of DISH, Texas back in September of 2009.

The one on Toluene was what started these posts.  Nothing makes me madder than when someone who is in the know reports faulty, misleading or incorrect information to the general public.  As an MPH she knows better.  Although what she said was factually true, the context it was put in was misleading:

Lets look at a different chemical to illustrate how misleading a statement like this can be:

Phosphoric Acid - CAS Number 7664-38-2  

Corrosive. Causes skin and eye burns. Harmful if inhaled or swallowed. Irritating to respiratory system. Prolonged exposure may cause chronic effects.  This product is considered hazardous under 29 CFR 1910.1200 (Hazard Communication).  Risk of serious damage to eyes. Do not get this material in contact with eyes.  Causes skin burns. Harmful if inhaled. Inhalation of vapors or mists of the product may be irritating to the respiratory system. Prolonged inhalation may be harmful. Do not breathe dust/fume/gas/mist/vapors/spray.  Harmful if swallowed. Components of the product may be absorbed into the body by ingestion. Ingestion may produce burns to the lips, oral cavity, upper airway, esophagus and  possibly the digestive tract. Circulatory collapse. Unconsciousness, possibly death. Do not ingest. Components of this product are hazardous to aquatic life. May cause long-term adverse effects in the environment. (1)

Pay particular attention to the section in red.  Wow!  That phosphoric acid must be really bad stuff!  Now lets look at a can of Coke, or Pepsi, or Dr. Pepper, or any other carbonated drink.

So will drinking a can of Coke cause you to suffer "Circulatory collapse. Unconsciousness, possibly death?"  

No.

Is Coke, which contains phosphoric acid, "Harmful if swallowed?"

No.

Does ingestion of this product "produce burns to the lips, oral cavity, upper airway, esophagus and  possibly the digestive tract?"

No.

And the reason?  The dose!  In other words, there is a "safe amount" of phosphoric acid that a person can be exposed to.  Carbonated drinks contain that "safe amount."

So were the citizens of DISH, Texas exposed to an amount of Toluene that would/could present any of the hazards described in Wolf Eagle Environmental's report?

No. (2)(3)

And yet both Alisa Rich and Wilma Subra presented to the Town of DISH, Texas reports that imply that the amount of contaminants detected in the seven samples exposed the citizens to "a neurotoxin." (4)

If we go back to looking at chemical exposure in terms of exposure to a dog, in DISH, Texas a dog was indeed found to be present.  Even if we assume worst-case as the TCEQ did in their memo - increasing the amount of chemicals detected in a 24 hour sample to 24 times the levels detected - what was detected at the Town of DISH, Texas by Wolf Eagle Environmental, was a dog that looks like this:

But the way their report was worded, it describes a dog that looks like this:

So as Wilma Subra concludes in her report:

The data from the report should be used to educate community members living in the area with the highest concentrations of chemicals and chemicals in excess of TCEQ ESLs in the air they are being exposed to.

Well you now have the data and the correct context to help make a proper determination as to the risk posed by the oil & gas production that is taking place.


Next post: Air Quality in the Barnett Shale - Part 11:  Is there a real concern for DISH, Texas?


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