SAN ANTONIO – The Eagle Ford shale is bringing jobs and economic growth to South Texas, but many residents are worried the cost is too high.
According to Dr. Gunner Schade, of the Department of Atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M, the air quality needs to be monitored. Shade has been studying Texas air quality for six months and presented his research at a workshop for resource management of the environment Tuesday.
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Shade said indications of hydrocarbon emissions from the shale are constant, not intermittent, and the concentrations can be heavy enough to be noticed by shale residents.
"People who smell it, live close to it, and may be screaming loudly about it, they are not wrong, they are just loud," said Shade.
Schade said many of the hydrocarbons don't pose a danger, but continued exposure can have long-term effects.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality collects air quality information from a monitoring station in Floresville, and the agency also responds to complaints about shale emissions.
TCEQ will soon be adding another monitoring station in Karnes County to gather more information about air quality.