New Brunswick shale gas air monitoring study

The results of the New Brunswick shale gas air monitoring study.

On this page

• About the study
• Report 1
• Report 2
• Report 3
• Synopsis

About the study

Health Canada and the New Brunswick Department of Environment and Local Government worked together to monitor the air quality around shale gas wells and processing facilities. This project took place in New Brunswick between the fall of 2012 and the spring of 2015. Environment and Climate Change Canada provided equipment and technical support during this project.

Air quality was monitored at different stages of shale gas development:

• baseline: an area where there is no shale gas activities
• production: a site with an active shale gas well
• processing: a site where natural gas is processed and distributed
• closure: a site with a closed or suspended shale gas well

Health Canada has already released two reports that provided early data from the study.

Report 1

The first report was released in February 2014. It describes:

• the purpose of the study
• how the air quality was monitored
• how the air samples were collected
• how the data were analysed

It also includes some results from the baseline monitoring data.

Report 2

The second report was released in July 2015. It includes results from monitoring of the baseline, processing and closure sites.

Report 3

The third report presents the results of monitoring at the production site, which was conducted at a shale gas well in Penobsquis, New Brunswick. The report includes data from June 2014 to March 2015.

Report 3 contains detailed information about air quality. It is intended for a technical audience.

To obtain an electronic copy of the New Brunswick Shale Gas Air Monitoring Study – Report 3, please email us.

Synopsis

The synopsis report provides a summary of all the monitoring at all stages of shale gas development. It provides general conclusions for a non-technical audience. It does not include the detailed information, which is in the three previous reports.

To obtain an electronic copy of the New Brunswick Shale Gas Air Monitoring Study – Synopsis, please email us.