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00000176-e6f7-dce8-adff-f6f770410000PublicSource is an independent, nonprofit news group that focuses on original investigative reporting about critical issues facing Pittsburgh and the Western Pennsylvania region. It was launched to undertake in-depth reporting in the public interest.PublicSource is a content partner of 90.5 WESA.More about PublicSource here.

Eight Facts To Know About The Shale Gas Industry’s Air Pollution

Natasha Khan
/
PublicSource

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently released data on air emissions from the shale gas industry in 2013.

PublicSource looked into the data and built a series of interactive charts so you can more easily explore the information.

Overall, the data showed emissions from the shale gas industry increased from 2012 to 2013 for five major pollutants:

  • nitrogen dioxides
  • particulate matter
  • sulfur dioxide
  • volatile organic compounds, or VOCs
  • carbon dioxide (CO2)

(Click here to see a chart of what these pollutants are and their potential health effects.)

But emissions decreased for methane and carbon monoxide.

The drop in methane is significant because it is a more potent greenhouse gas than C02 and needs to be reduced to fight climate change. Its reduction may indicate that 2012 federal regulations on reducing methane are working.

Read more of this report at the website of our partner PublicSource.