Causes Of Accupational Health And Safety In The Energy Industry

There can be a lot of health and environmental risk that come with fracking in Texas, such

Hydraulic fracking purportedly has been considered important to our nation’s expansion of natural gas as well as giving rise to our nation’s economy. Globally, the fracking industry has supported and created a large job market and has employed a vast number of unemployed workers. In 2012 alone, the industry created 2.1 million jobs across the United States (1). States such as Arkansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Texas have successfully lead the charge within this ever growing business activity. The fracking industry in Arkansas, for example, employed 5.9% of the state’s overall employment of 92,500 jobs. The labor income from the fracking industry is $4.22 billion. Furthermore, the industry successfully supported Arkansas’s public schools during 2012-2013 saving $9.9 million paired with saving 144 teaching positions.

for approximately 20 years.7 Once hydraulic fracturing was commercialized, independent gas companies quickly pursued the opportunity. Today, nine companies compete for shale gas production in the U.S., and the major oil companies have moved more slowly since the smaller firms were the originators of fracking technologies.8 Hydraulically fracked wells in the U.S. today total over 500,000 and continue to grow rapidly.9 Another key factor which allowed rapid shale gas development is that U.S. law provides that landowners also own the natural minerals under their property, which enabled shale gas developers to lease land for drilling directly from homeowners (in most other countries, the government owns minerals found under properties). Future success with clean energy will require collaboration between the U.S. Government and industry, and our leaders must commit to advancing this agenda in parallel with the continued development of U.S. shale resources.

The most dangerous consequence of fracking is that hundreds of chemicals are blasted into the Earth’s crust, which creates cracks in the bedrock. Many times, these cracks lead to an aquifer, in which case, all of the water in the aquifer becomes contaminated with these chemicals (Jackson, 2014). Additionally, when the natural gas is being pumped out of the wells, methane is released into the atmosphere. A study conducted by NOAA found that approximately 4% of the methane is being released into the atmosphere. This same study found that methane pollution increases climate changes because it traps heat in the atmosphere 25 times more than carbon dioxide (Hoffman, 2016). Furthermore, fracking waste wells are the primary cause of the increase of earthquakes in the Central U.S. This is because these wells operate for a longer period of time, which means that they inject more “solid ‘cake’” into the Earth than the actual fracking process (USGS, n.d. and StateImpact, 2017). Finally, recent studies have found that people who live near a fracking site are at higher risk to develop respiratory problems, which is due to the increased levels of pollutants. These pollutants are not only affecting the people who live in close proximity to these sites, but to the workers, as well. The most common type of respiratory problem reported was lung

Fracking in North Dakota alone went from 4,600 to 6,600 wells just from 2009-2012. Due to the increase in wells, natural gas extraction went from 7.5 million to 16.9 million barrels of oil (Loris 2). This increase in the oil and gas industry also provides jobs in several fields such as geology, engineering, rig working, truck driving, pipe welding, and many more, which means that the US unemployment will go down as long as this economic boom keeps up. However, fracking provides more than just jobs; it provides an economic boost to the communities where fracking occurs. States like Louisiana and Oklahoma practice fracking in more rural areas and it is seen as an economic boost more so in those places than in states like Colorado, where fracking

Specific health problems associated with the workplace have contributed to the development of Particular health issues connected with the work environment have added to the advancement of the cutting edge safety and health development. These issues incorporate lung infections in diggers, mercury harming, and lung tumor attached to asbestos. Occupational and Environmental Health Professionals have an above normal extent of all day employments. For Occupational and Environmental Health Professionals working all day, normal week by week hours are 42.3 and profit are high - in the ninth decile. Unemployment for Health Professionals is underneath normal. H&S Professionals have an expansive extent of specialists amongst individuals in the 25-34 age section, making it an energetic and dynamic workplace. The unavoidable consequence of the expanded consideration given to safety and health is that bigger organizations are utilizing safety and health professionals and all organizations big or small are relegating these obligations to existing representatives.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), often referred to as the "OSH Act," was enacted in 1970 by President Richard M. Nixon. Its purpose is to assure safe and healthful working conditions for men and women (EPA, 2006). The Act is administered and enforced at the national level by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a division of the US Department of Labor. The application of the OSH Act in the current employment climate will be discussed as it applies to a variety of industries; considerations that are most applicable to the specific type of industry will be discussed initially, and those that are equally important regardless of the type of business will complete the section. Finally, this paper will discuss how the

Illness and disease around wells is unfortunately common as a result of the following. First, chemicals used can damage organs such as, lungs, brain, and ?. Second, there are health risks from air emissions produced during fracking. Third, the number of cancer patients around fracking wells increased. To protect its citizens from these illnesses and health related issues, the government should address safety by implementing the following ideal: limiting residential areas in a certain radius of fracking wells.

Moreover, US drilling climbed from a 2 year high by another 10 rigs to 1706 working compared with 1161 the previous year. Land drilling total was 1683 rigs and offshore was 23. 948 were drilling for natural gas and oil rigs increased to 763. Seasonal conditions for rig movement improved caused an increase in rigs to start drilling (OGJ). These rigs work around the clock using three shifts and costing the oil companies $45,000 a day to run. Doing the math it cost $76.77 million to run all the rigs per day. The military spent about 1 trillion dollars in Middle Eastern operations over the years for oil. Private companies are spending an extraordinary amount of money to bring the fuel to the surface. Unfortunately, their efforts are not enough to meet demand.

In 2000, shale beds where the number one source of America’s constant need for gas. Most of that production increase has come about to the growing need of hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking”, which is a process used to release oil or gas from underground formations that are otherwise too hard to mine with other tools. Over the past few years, advances in fracking technology have made huge reserves of natural gas in America economically recoverable. According to the Energy Information Administration, shale gas plays, or fields, in the United States, most notably the Marcellus, in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York, and the Barnett, in Texas, are said to contain enough natural gas to give power to the country for a hundred and ten years. With the everlasting specter of energy independence, some have argued that such efforts to recover natural gas need to be expanded. Activists concerned with fracking’s potential environmental hazards view the new process as a serious threat to our environment. There are many different opinions on wether or not fracking is a safe way to gain our gasoline, and to meet the growing demands of gasoline around the world. The process of fracking creates cracks that come from wells into oil and gas formations by pumping highly pressurized fluids, ceramic beads, sand, and a mixture of chemicals, into the gas formation. As this fluid holds the underground fissures open, oil and gas fly up the well to the surface where they are

Your business of hydraulic fracturing or fracking for shale gas and oil was trumpeted as a boon to the ailing US economy. It provided an opportunity of potentially ending dependence on fossil fuels imports and bringing revenue to poor rural counties. But as the business has become widespread, concerns have begun to mount that fracking will exacerbate climate change, threaten public health, and degrade vital resources. Touted as a job generator in your sector, it essentially leads to overall job losses, and altering the landscape as it progresses. In assessing the impact of shale gas and oil development, you should consider the full cost of such activity – to the economy, environment and public health for which your company can and will be

Fracking provides over 9.6 million jobs, which is 5.6 percent of the U.S. employment. About four hundred jobs are truck drivers, who carry supplies and water to and from the site. About seven people work in a control room to monitor the site. A fracking site needs a crane operator to operate the crane. Fracking works when a drill site is found and a well is set up. Then someone drills into the sale rock ground. These jobs require workers and operators to help run the machine. The Shale gas industry will provide more than 600,000 jobs alone in the next decade, which is about half of what fracking will provide.

Finkel, Madelon L., and Adam Law. "The Rush to Drill for Natural Gas: A Public Health Cautionary Tale." American Journal of Public Health 101.5 (2011): 784-85. Web. 26 Mar. 2016. Both authors Madelon Finkel, Ph.D., and Adam Law, MD implore a growing urgency for the need to regulate and research the dangers and health implications that the fracking process can have on the general public. Madelon

Health, safety and environmental risks are major concern in the oil and gas industry. The workers engaged in the direct work process are prone to accidental risks such as cuts, bruises, chemical burns, fractures, etc. Respiratory ailments are also caused due to the large amount of gases mainly hydrocarbons. While working on the rigs there is a risk of becoming deaf due to the loud noise and vibrations of the machinery present on the rig. There are also safety concerns like the height at which the rigs operate above sea level. There are always cranes carrying heavy containers which might fall from a height causing serious injury to personnel. There is a high risk of slips, trips and falls as the workers work at a height and the surface they work on is uneven. The workers in the oil and gas industry have to work in a confined space such as

In the United States, construction has always been one of the most dangerous industries to work in. The number of fatalities that occur in this industry year after year demonstrate this. In 2014, 19.6% of worker fatalities, in private industry, were in construction (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015) despite the industry comprising only 6.8% of the total work force. This epidemic is not unique to the United States. Essentially every country faces similar problems regarding construction safety. For example, in 2004 the Australian construction industry employed approximately 8% of the countries workforce. However, workers compensation statistics indicated that the industry’s incidence rate was 28.6 per 1000 employees,