Exploring Perceptions on Potential Health Inequalities Caused by Unconventional Natural Gas Development in Southwestern Pennsylvania

Open Access
- Author:
- Basak, Sharmistha
- Graduate Program:
- Education, Development, and Community Engagement
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- October 04, 2024
- Committee Members:
- Anil Kumar Chaudhary, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
John Ewing, Major Field Member
Mark Brennan, Major Field Member
Danielle Rhubart, Outside Unit & Field Member
Anil Kumar Chaudhary, Professor in Charge/Director of Graduate Studies - Keywords:
- Environmental justice
Procedural justice
Distributive justice
Unconventional natural gas development
Fracking
Community perception of fracking
Stakeholder perception of fracking
Fracking and health impacts
Shale gas development - Abstract:
- Being the second-largest natural gas producer in the United States, Pennsylvania economically benefits in multiple ways from gas industries, such as lease and royalty income and impact fees. However, researchers found potential relationships between unconventional natural gas development and multiple health risks (i.e., asthma, cancer, skin diseases, premature birth) among the communities living near gas development sites. Interestingly, not all the communities in Pennsylvania are impacted by unconventional well drilling in the same way. Some under-resourced communities are usually more susceptible to the potential health risks of drilling facilities. In this regard, the existing federal and state policy frameworks in Pennsylvania have significant limitations in addressing the perceptions of potential health risks of unconventional natural gas development. Similarly, the inherent power dynamic, such as social privilege and authority on policy frameworks, also impacts the approval and management of unconventional wells in Pennsylvania. At the same time, community perception of the potential health impacts of unconventional natural gas development can significantly contribute to mitigating their exposure to the adverse impacts of drilling wells. In this dissertation, while answering key procedural and distributional justice questions regarding community exposure to gas operations, I explored policy actors’ (i.e., employees of government and non-government organizations) and community actors’ (i.e., local community organization employees and community members) understanding of the potential health risks and health inequalities caused by unconventional natural gas extraction in Southwestern Pennsylvania. I followed a qualitative case-study approach using policy analysis and semi-structured interviews as data collection methods. Findings suggested that rural communities in Pennsylvania are more susceptible to the potential health impacts of unconventional well drilling because of the high frequency of gas wells. The location of a high number of gas wells in rural Pennsylvania is also encouraged by the local history of energy extraction, community demographics, limited availability of opportunities for public participation in the decision-making process, and inherent power dynamics prioritizing the predominant stakeholders. These findings will guide future theory development efforts on environmental justice, contribute to involved actors’ understanding of associated health risks, and help to plan future capacity-building efforts considering the needs of under-resourced communities affected by natural gas extraction.