New Interactive Tool Helps You Trace Symptoms to Specific Pollutants

Communities have a right to know about the chemicals they are exposed to by emissions from oil and gas facilities, but that’s not often the case. To address this gap, the Environmental Health Project (EHP) created the new Compounds of Concern tool to provide users with easy-to-understand details on exposure symptoms and the health impacts of chemical compounds associated with industrial operations. A chemical compound consists of two or more elements joined by a chemical bond. Some compounds are harmful to the human body.

The Compounds of Concern tool is an easy-to-use database, searchable by

• compound name,

• pollution source,

• symptom, or

• body system impacted.

Each selection generates a list of relevant compounds. By clicking each compound, information can be viewed in expandable panes or by downloading a PDF report. Alternatively, if you are experiencing a health symptom and want to know what compound(s) are known to cause that symptom, you can find possible answers here. Or, if you learn about the release of a chemical compound from a nearby facility in the news, you can find out more about that compound, how it is used, and its known related health effects.

The Shell Ethane Cracker in Beaver, PA flaring at night. Photo credit: EJ Pavlinich, EHP

The Compounds of Concern tool is especially helpful to anyone living near polluting facilities. For example, Shell Polymers Monaca (also known as the Beaver cracker plant), an immense, 386-acre petrochemical facility northwest of Pittsburgh, PA, had already exceeded its annual permitted emissions in the year leading up to its first full day of operations in November 2022. Shell has also submitted 80 malfunction reports to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to date; these malfunctions have added to the pollution burden in the area with an additional 400 million pounds of unplanned and unexpected emissions. Shell has paid $10 million in fines and community investments for exceeding permitted limits, and yet, excess emissions and industrial accidents, including a fire, continue at this location.

Origins of the Tool

In response to these operations that affect nearby communities, EHP conducted air quality monitoring around Shell Polymers Monaca. EHP also performed a comprehensive air quality analysis using the Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (CMAQ), which identified approximately 600 compounds associated with emissions from petrochemical facilities.  That list of compounds helped EHP’s team determine where to start when creating the tool.

Research has shown a variety of potential negative health effects relating to shale gas development and the petrochemical buildout impacting virtually every part of the body. The sheer volume of compounds emitted, paired with the potentially widespread impacts and symptoms that may be experienced, pose difficulties for frontline residents seeking information to protect and improve their health. To simplify the search for information pertaining to this wide array of compounds and their effects on health, EHP cross-referenced the list of 600 compounds identified through CMAQ analysis and air monitoring around the Shell facility with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Initial List of Hazardous Air Pollutants with Modifications to narrow our focus to the compounds of greatest concern. This additional analysis resulted in 45 initial compounds, which are now presented in an easily searched, interactive database. The result is EHP’s new, interactive tool with searchable symptoms and compounds.

The Compounds of Concern tool was first launched with a set of compounds that were prioritized for the hazards they pose to human health. Now, EHP is continuously adding new compounds in response to the public’s need for a comprehensive resource addressing industrial pollution exposure. Look for regular announcements when new compounds are added by checking the tool, subscribing to our newsletter, or following EHP on social media. Learn more about the methodology behind the tool by clicking “Resources” on the Compounds of Concern page.

Explore the Compounds of Concern Tool Now!