# Evaluating Exposure to Unconventional Oil and Gas Development and Childhood Leukemia Risk

> **NIH NIH F31** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $23,418

## Abstract

Project Summary
Unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD), commonly referred to as hydraulic fracturing, has expanded
rapidly over the past decade, leading to an estimated 4 million people living within one mile of a hydraulically
fractured well. Despite the widespread nature of the industry, little is understood about the risks and exposures
to individuals living near UOGD facilities. Due to the chemical- and water-intensive nature of UOGD, drinking
water contamination by UOGD fluids and wastewater and the resulting potential for children living near UOGD
to be exposed to chemical carcinogens are major public health concerns. Approximately 30 epidemiologic
studies of UOG published to date, including two on childhood cancer, have relied on proximity-based spatial
surrogates to ascertain exposure. While proximity-based metrics may serve as useful surrogates for
collectively capturing numerous potential stressors of UOGD (e.g., air pollution, stress), their correlations with
specific environmental measurements, such as concentrations of water contaminants, is unknown. In the
proposed project, we will apply drinking water monitoring and epidemiological data to evaluate
exposure to carcinogenic compounds related to UOG and improve our understanding of childhood
cancer risk from UOGD. We will use measurements in drinking water samples we collected from >250
residences in Pennsylvania and Ohio to evaluate the relationship between commonly used spatial metrics as
well as a newly developed water vulnerability model and drinking water concentrations of carcinogens. We will
also examine whether the spatial surrogates are more strongly correlated with drinking water contaminant
concentrations with the addition of other covariates, such as UOG well age, depth, and phase of development.
Using these traditional and newly developed exposure metrics, we will then conduct a population-based case-
control study investigating the association between UOGD exposure and risk of childhood leukemia in
Pennsylvania and Ohio. My overarching hypothesis is that UOGD releases carcinogenic chemicals that may
increase risk of childhood cancer. We expect that this work will provide important information on the potential
health effects of exposure to carcinogenic compounds related to UOGD, as well as evaluate several available
methods to assess this exposure. Such information can be used to guide public health policy and inform public
health interventions, environmental monitoring, and future studies on UOGD exposure. This work will also
support my development as an independent researcher conducting policy-relevant environmental health and
exposure studies, with a focus on impacts to women and children.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10318517
- **Project number:** 5F31ES031441-02
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Cassandra Jane Clark
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $23,418
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10318517

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10318517, Evaluating Exposure to Unconventional Oil and Gas Development and Childhood Leukemia Risk (5F31ES031441-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10318517. Licensed CC0.

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