Health and environmental effects document for oil shale: 1984

Technical Report · Mon Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:5752543

Gratt, L B; Perry, B W; Marine, W M; Savitz, D A; Chappell, W R

The third reported effort to analyze the potential human health and environmental risks of a hypothetical one million barrels-per-day industry has been completed as an aid in the formulation and management of a program of environmental research. The methodology for prioritizing key research needs using the risk magnitude and associated uncertainty has been established and demonstrated. The analysis focused on the recommendations of the National Academy of Science's review of the 1982 oil shale risk analysis. Human health risk measures included accident and disease occurrences, premature fatalities, and life-loss expectancies. The sulfate surrogate model was replaced by a fine-particle surrogate resulting in reduced public risks. The largest uncertainties for expected fatalities are in the occupational sector. Occupational injuries and illnesses have been analyzed for the oil shale fuel cycle from extraction to delivery of products for end use. Silicosis from the dust environment is the worker disease of primary concern, followed by other forms of pneumoconiosis, chronic bronchitis, chronic airway obstruction, internal cancer, and skin cancers, respectively. The current nuisance dust threshold limit value of 5 mg/m/sup 3/ poses a serious occupational health concern for a future oil shale industry. Research recommendations are presented based on the potential for reducing the estimated uncertainties in the risks. 173 refs., 36 tabs.

• Research Organization: IWG Corp., San Diego, CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-82ER60087; AC02-81EV10706; W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 5752543
• Report Number(s): UCRL-15682; IWGFR-085-01; ON: DE85012877
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040700* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Health & Safety
041000 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Environmental Aspects
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
BRONCHITIS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CARCINOMAS
DATA
DISEASES
DUSTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INDUSTRY
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
NEOPLASMS
NUMERICAL DATA
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
OIL SHALE INDUSTRY
OIL SHALE PROCESSING PLANTS
OIL SHALES
PERSONNEL
PNEUMOCONIOSES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
RISK ASSESSMENT
THEORETICAL DATA