Dinosaur National Monument Ground Level Ozone at High-Risk Levels due to Proximity to Drilling Operations

December 19, 2013

 

Dear Colorado,

 

I feel obliged to attempt to bring this issue to light. It relates to the growing concern over the expansion of drilling operations in Colorado and the direct impact on our health and that of our environment and national treasures; specifically, Dinosaur National Monument in the northwest corner of the state.

 

My company operates an air-quality monitoring network for the National Parks Service. One of the criteria pollutants from the EPA's National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) is ground-level ozone. This is the same ozone that is in our upper atmosphere which is responsible for preventing a significant portion of the sun's ultraviolet light from causing cancers and other adverse effects to life on the planet. However, ozone is a highly reactive and unstable chemical compound and when we are exposed to it at the ground-level it reacts with tissues in our lungs that can cause long-term respiratory damage; particularly to the developing lungs of children. So, for good reason, the EPA has partnered with us to monitor ground-level ozone concentrations in many National Parks and Monuments.

 

Usually, ground-level ozone concentrations are markedly higher in the summer than the winter. This is caused by the greater intensity of sunlight during the summer which reacts with oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to form ozone. While NOx and VOCs occur naturally and produce some amount of ground-level ozone, human activities, namely combustion engines, are a significant contributor to local NOx and VOC concentrations. In general, it may be stated that with increased human activity there comes an increased amount of 'fuel' for ground-level ozone production. However, despite the fact that we are having the lowest intensity of sunlight that we will see all year (we call it winter), we are seeing a significant increase in the ground-level ozone levels at Dinosaur National Monument.

 

Why? There are two main reasons. First, there has been significant oil and gas development in the area in the past few years which produces much more NOx and VOCs than are naturally available for ozone formation. And second, during the winter there are strong atmospheric inversion layers caused by natural temperature gradients that prevent vertical air movement in the area; think of it as a blanket of air that sits a couple hundred feet in the air. These inversion layers can be swept away by strong winds and pressure changes, but they can last for weeks, particularly in valleys, if left undisturbed. Until the inversion dissipates, ground-level ozone is effectively sequestered and we see a drastic increase in ambient concentrations over a short period of time.

 

These two factors, drilling expansion and winter inversion layers, have caused the ground-level ozone concentrations at Dinosaur National Monument to rise from about 50 parts per billion (ppb) to over 100 ppb in about one week's time. For some perspective, the EPA mandates that nobody should be exposed to more than 75 ppb ozone averaged over an 8-hour period. They are considering lowering this limit to 60-70 ppb as we learn more about the health effects. Further, the EPA mandates that nobody should be exposed to more than 120 ppb ozone averaged over a 1-hour period. Yesterday,December 19th around 2PM, Dinosaur National Monument reached a peak ozone concentration of over 100 ppb with the concentration at "unhealthy levels" for over five hours. Every day we are seeing a 5 ppb or greater increase in the peak ozone concentration. As long as this inversion layer sits over the Monument, the levels will continue to increase to more damaging levels. A quick check of the weather at Dino shows low winds and steady temperatures and I'm going to hazard a guess that the wells will continue production.

 

This is a problem. Not only are these ozone concentrations dangerous for humans, they are damaging to the local flora and fauna. Now we have a beautiful National Monument that is no longer safe to visit, particularly for our children, for those eyes to which we want to show the most amazing things. Everyone knows there is a fine line between environmental protection and economic development. There is always some risk for any new venture, but in this instance, it appears that this development was not adequately characterized.

 

There has been a lot of press recently about oil and gas development; especially fracking. Everyone worries about oil spills, water contamination, habitat loss, tectonic shifting, and overall mess-making of the recent natural gas boom. Now we can add another, harder-to-see problem; ground-level ozone reaching a point that I would not be comfortable breathing.

 

You can take a look at the National Parks Service's ozone monitoring network website for up-to-date information at http://www.nature.nps.gov/air/data/current/index.cfm

 

Why should you care what I say? You shouldn't. Look at the data, check out the regulations, and form your own opinion on the issue. But if qualifications make you feel better, I am an environmental engineer at an environmental consulting firm in Fort Collins on a team that manages this monitoring network for the National Parks Service.

 

Warmest regards from a concerned Coloradoan,

Nicholas Dummer