Unconventional natural gas development (UNGD), hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”, is an industrial process used to extract natural gas from shale or tight rock formations. A number of concerns have been raised about the health impacts of this industry on people living in proximity to UNGD. Data access has been approved for a study to examine the association between exposure to UNGD activity and its related air pollutants, with asthma exacerbations among asthmatic individuals living in Northeastern British Columbia.
The study, funded by a catalyst grant from the University of Toronto’s Data Sciences Institute, is being lead by Élyse Caron-Beaudoin, Assistant Professor in environmental health in the Department of Health and Society at the University of Toronto.
“Our study has two primary objectives,” says Professor Caron-Beaudoin. “We will estimate exposure of the asthma study cohort using a cumulative exposure metric of UNGD activity derived from the BC Energy Regulator data and modelled air pollutant concentrations. We will also test for association of UNGD activity and modelled air pollutant concentrations with asthma exacerbations using multilevel logistic regression compared to asthmatics who did not have an exacerbation.”
A secondary future objective will be to assess whether First Nations status increases risk of exposure and modifies these associations.
The study cohort will include all individuals with an asthma diagnosis residing in Northeastern BC between 2004 and the most recent year of data available. It will utilize a nested case-control study model to compare asthmatic individuals with and without asthma exacerbation in relation to their exposure to UNGD. “This design is appropriate to investigate asthma exacerbation events in the context of a small, rural and remote populations,” explains Professor Caron-Beaudoin. “Cases and controls will be linked to our UNGD exposure metrics and modelled air pollutants concentrations through postal codes.”
For the project, PopData will link data sets from the BC Ministry of Health, Cardiac Services BC, the Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation, the BC Index of Multiple Deprivation, the Canadian Marginalization Index, Statistics Canada, the BC Energy Regulator, BC Ministry of Environment, Canada Post, the National Pollutant Release Inventory and Researcher-collected data.
Results will be communicated to relevant policy decision-makers in the Ministry of Health, Northern Health and the First Nations Health Authority. Results will also be communicated to the rural and Indigenous populations living proximal to UNGD and specifically the Treaty 8 Tribal Association who are partners in this research. Articles for peer review publications and the lay press describing the results will also be produced.
