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. 2017 Aug 23;125(8):086004. doi: 10.1289/EHP1535

Table 3.

Prior and current study methods and results comparison.

Study Well/facility inventory limits Well parameters Apportionment Buffer (m) Count type Reported results This study
(million people)
Gold and McGinty (2013) Unconventional Spudded or produced after 2000 Complete apportionment 1,600 11 top-producing states (Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, Wyoming, North Dakota) 15.3 4.03
California 1.62 0.10
Pennsylvania 1.78 0.33
Earthworks et al. (2016) All wells plus processing plants and compressors Permitted wells Proportional apportionment 800 United States 12.4 8.89
California 1.3 0.76
Pennsylvania 1.5 0.96
Srebotnjak and Rotkin-Ellman (2014) All wells Drilled or newly permitted Proportional apportionment 1,600 California 5.4 2.09
Ridlington et al. (2015) Unconventional Permitted between 2007 and May 2015 Proportional apportionment 1,600 Age 5 or under, Pennsylvania 0.03 0.02
1,600 Age 75 or older, Pennsylvania 0.04 .03

Note: The column “This study” reports population counts from our well inventory, using the limitations criteria specified in the column “Well/facility inventory limits.” We limit population counts to those within proximity to unconventional wells when applicable. We did not include ancillary infrastructure. All other criteria used by other studies, such as the inclusion of permitted wells and inactive wells, are excluded from the population counts we provided, for comparison purposes.