The EHI’s most recent efforts involve the Marcellus shale. We are developing a number of research studies regarding the potential environmental impacts of nonconventional natural gas development in the Marcellus shale, and how these may influence such health outcomes as asthma, cardiovascular disease and pregnancy outomces.

Marcellus shale development can influence air, surface water, and ground water quality, and we are considering developing studies to assess the potential health impacts of each of these sources and routes of exposure. We are also involved with Geisinger’s larger efforts to launch a variety of Marcellus-related studies. We have obtained well and pipeline data from the state and are entering well completion report data into a geospatial database for use in future epidemiologic studies.