Data collected since March at Ursa Resources’ new oil and gas wells in Battlement Mesa show minimal impact to air quality and human health.
Garfield County health officials on Monday released the data collected by Air Resource Specialists to the county commissioners. The company designed and built a system near Ursa’s BMC D Pad that samples are that is tested for the presence of volatile organic compounds, including benzene and ethylbenzene, both of which may cause cancer in humans. A second sampler was installed at the end of 2017.
According to Garfield County environmental specialist Morgan Hill, the samples showed all air concentrations of individual and combined VOCs were below long-term, non-cancer health guideline values established by state and federal agencies.
Cancer risk estimates for benzene and ethylbenzene individually and combined were within the U.S. EPA generally acceptable risk range. Samples showed that the non-cancer and cancer risk estimates were similar both downwind and upwind, according to the report.
The county-funded program is one of multiple government-sponsored air quality monitoring programs in Colorado. It was begun in the late 2000s in answer to public concerns about air quality related to heightened oil and gas activity in the region.
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