Natural gas leaks and tree death: A first-look case-control study of urban trees in Chelsea, MA USA
| Autor: | Andy DeSantis, Claire Schollaert, Madeleine K. Scammell, Erin Polka, Robert C. Ackley |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Health Toxicology and Mutagenesis Natural Gas 010501 environmental sciences Toxicology 01 natural sciences Methane Trees Distribution system Soil chemistry.chemical_compound Natural gas 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Hydrology business.industry Soil gas Urban vegetation General Medicine Pollution Tree (data structure) Massachusetts chemistry Case-Control Studies Threatened species Environmental science Tree health business |
| Zdroj: | Environmental Pollution. 263:114464 |
| ISSN: | 0269-7491 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114464 |
| Popis: | Urban vegetation is associated with numerous public health benefits; however, urban tree canopies may be threatened by fugitive methane exposure from leaky natural gas distribution systems. Despite anecdotal evidence of the harmful impacts of natural gas leaks on urban tree decline, the relationship between soil gas exposure and tree health has not been formally quantified in an urban setting. We conducted a case-control study to compare soil natural gas exposure in sidewalk tree pits of healthy and dead or dying trees in Chelsea, Massachusetts, during summer 2019. We measured soil concentrations of methane and oxygen at four points around the trunks of 84 case and 97 control trees. We determined that case trees had 30 times the odds of being exposed to detectable levels of soil methane relative to the control trees sampled (95% CI = 3.93, 229). Among tree pits with elevated soil gas, we also found that methane concentrations were highest on the side of the tree pit closest to the street. These results contribute evidence to support the widespread belief that soil methane exposure can negatively impact urban tree health. They also suggest that fugitive methane leakage from urban natural gas distribution systems beneath the street surface may be responsible for elevated soil gas concentrations in sidewalk tree pits and subsequent tree death. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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