PA DEP Tests for Air Pollution at Gas Drilling Sites – Finds None

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) conducted air quality testing from August to October of 2010 at a number of natural gas drilling sites that use hydraulic fracturing in Susquehanna and Sullivan counties, including a Cabot Oil drilling site in Dimock, PA. The DEP looked for compounds associated with petroleum-based products that may have become airborne. They also looked for other compounds, like elevated levels of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide.

The results? There are “no harmful emissions near natural gas operations” in those areas.

You can download the report from the DEP website here (PDF file): Northeastern Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale Short-Term Ambient Air Sampling Report.

*YNN – Your News Now (Jan 31) – DEP says air quality tests show no harmful emissions