Timmins Leads New Study on Shale Gas Development and Air Quality
11 March 2015 1:54PM
It’s not uncommon to find “No Fracking” signs staked into front yards in the neighborhoods surrounding Duke University. And with the many negative environmental impacts potentially associated with fracking, it’s easy to see why some Durhamites are concerned. Despite this opposition, North Carolina is preparing to issue permits for shale gas development, and it is expected to occur in the near future.
The timing of these operations has presented a unique opportunity to collect baseline information about the Triangle region’s air quality before drilling takes place. That’s why Professor Christopher Timmins, along with a team of researchers from the Nicholas School of the Environment and RTI International, plans to do exactly that.
“There has been evidence suggesting important environmental consequences of shale gas development in other parts of the country — both in terms of water and air quality,” Timmins said. “If we want to be able to measure the impact of this drilling on local air quality, it is imperative to collect baseline information describing air quality before drilling takes place.”
Timmins’ group has been awarded $100,000 from a new Duke-RTI research initiative for the project, set to break ground in June.
The grant is funded jointly by Duke and RTI International as part of a new initiative to encourage collaborations between the two institutions: the Funds Launching Alliances for Research Exploration (FLARE) Collaboration Seed Fund. For the first annual FLARE competition, Timmins’ project was one of two winning ideas.
“There was a sense of urgency to this project, and the FLARE seed funds provided a great opportunity for funding, as well as a great chance to draw upon the expertise of natural scientists at RTI who specialize in air quality monitoring,” Timmins said.
The Duke-RTI collaborators aim to create a structure for conducting air quality measurements that will collect information about air toxics, black carbon, and particulates in the greater Triangle area, between Sanford, Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh. Follow-up measurements after drilling will enable the researchers to make causal statements about the effect of drilling on air quality. They hope to eventually merge the collected data with birth records, hospital records, and schooling data to credibly measure impacts on fetal and child health.
According to Carmel Lee, director of research opportunities at Duke, the panel of researchers and staff from Duke and RTI were impressed by the group’s proposal because of its “timeliness, high potential to impact policy, and a new level of multi-disciplinary collaborations.”
Timmins is equally optimistic about the new partnership with RTI scientists. “It is clear from the conversations we’ve had as part of formulating the grant that their expertise is going to greatly improve the air quality monitoring effort,” he said.
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