Air Tests in North Texas Concern Community
Recent natural gas drilling in North Texas has fueled concerns regarding benzene exposure. The community fears that the water and air are being polluted with benzene, which is a known carcinogen.
Recent air tests within the surrounding areas where the drilling is being conducted showed high concentrations of benzene and other chemicals. The toxins were found both around the drilling site itself as well as in the surrounding communities.
More Tests for Benzene Requested
According to reports, cities, counties, and the state’s environmental agencies are now waiting for the follow-up testing they’ve requested to be done. They also are hoping that further action will be taken to ensure the communities and the environment is protected from benzene exposure.
The study that already took place is reportedly scheduled to be released later this month. During the study, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is said to have monitored more than 60 different areas throughout Tarrant, Denton, Parker, Johnson and Wise counties. This was done to help gather essential data, which the agency’s toxicology division is now analyzing. The results from tests conducted in November are supposedly going to be released to the public in February.
Although there’s no telling at this point what the state studies will find, individual tests have many worried and fearful for their health and the health of their children. The communities concerns even provoked TCEQ officials to meet with operators in the Barnett Shale to ask them to voluntarily reduce the amount of benzene being released.
Michael Honeycutt, who works as the toxicology director for TCEQ, says the level of benzene exposure at one site is comparable to “breathing constant gasoline fumes”. This type of exposure to a chemical like benzene has been known to cause cancers such as leukemia to those exposed over a long period of time. Long-term exposure to benzene in the air can cause leukemia.
