A study conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland states that greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas fracking in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are affecting states downwind of production, Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Years of hourly measurements taken at photochemical assessment monitoring stations (PAMS) near Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., were used to determine the sources of organic carbons in the air. The researchers noted that between 2010 and 2013, the atmospheric concentrations of ethane rose 30 percent.

It isn’t just the wells that produce greenhouse gases. Diesel engines that run trucks and drilling equipment emit pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and other hydrocarbons.

The researchers hope to increase awareness of the presence of methane and other pollutants from fracking that are in the air, and to lobby for long-term studies on methane monitoring.

The study can be accessed here.

Via: Akron Beacon Journal > Natural gas wells in Ohio, other states impact downwind places

Related:

• New research shows methane leaks in three U.S. natural gas fields in line with federal estimates Feb. 23, 2015
• Obama plans to cut methane emissions by at least 40 percent Jan. 16, 2015
• The shale industry’s money-making component: Methane Oct. 12, 2014