Fellow: Luisa F Torres
Advisor: Advisor: Dr. Eakalak Khan, P.E., Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, North Dakota State University.
Co-Advisor: Dr. Om Prakash Yadav, Professor, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Degree Progress: Master of Science in Environmental Engineering, expected graduation in Summer 2016.

Luisa’s thesis research focuses on performing holistic risk assessments of different contaminants found in produced water from unconventional oil and gas development. In addition, social risk perceptions are being studied and included in the risk assessments.

Project Objectives:

1. Understand and prioritize the risks to water quality that could result from unconventional oil and gas development.
2. Characterize the risk by performing a holistic risk assessment that also includes social risk perception and impacts.
3. Propose solutions and mitigation plans to reduce the risks analyzed.

Progress:

Luisa has published a literature review paper in the Science of The Total Environment Journal (doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.09.030). Currently, she is finishing the first holistic risk assessment on lead-210 (Pb-210) in produced water and its implication in spills and surface water contamination. Also, she and her advisors are starting to work on a second holistic risk assessment where the contaminants under study are barium (Ba) and strontium (Sr) and their relation with radium-226 (Ra-226) concentration in produced water. Moreover, a social perception survey has been distributed in different counties in the State to collect data used for the holistic risk assessment. Furthermore, she has participated in poster presentations at the 2015 AWWA Water Quality Technology Conference, the 2016 ND Water Quality Monitoring Conference, and the upcoming PA-AWWA’s 68th Annual Conference held in May, 2016.

Significance:

The results of this research will determine the risks of surface water contamination and the impacts on the environment and human health. In addition, the risk perception from different stakeholders in North Dakota is going to be established. Some of the contaminants found in the produced water are well known and have been extensively studied in the past but there are some which impacts are not completely understood. One example is radioactive material which is considered for this research. For the Pb-210 risk assessment, the initiating events, or situation that promote the risk of water contamination were identified. The frequency or probability of those risks to happen were assessed using qualitative and quantitative methods. Lastly, the consequences of the risks were determined focusing on the environment and human health. Similar results are expected to be obtained for the second risk assessment focused on Ba and Sr. The outcome of this thesis will give a better understanding on the importance of holistic risk assessment in the unconventional oil and gas industry by showing the potential impacts on human health and the environment. Moreover, this research will serve as a basis for future studies on produced water from unconventional oil and gas development.