Proppant powder – the protection and the pain – lurking hazards of silicosis
Chris Barrand A * , Radika Lucas A and Anne Nissen BA Resources Safety and Health Queensland, Petroleum Gas Inspectorate, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
B Resources Safety and Health Queensland, Safety in Mines Testing and Research Station, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 63 S286-S290 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22145
Accepted: 7 March 2023 Published: 11 May 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) is the independent regulator for safety and health in Queensland’s resources sector. The Petroleum and Gas Inspectorate (the Inspectorate) administers safety and health regulation for the petroleum and gas industry. RSHQ uses a risk-based and data-driven approach to pursue its vision of zero serious harm for resource sector workers. In Queensland, on average, there are 200 fraccing operations conducted annually on oil and gas wells. For each fraccing operation, up to 450 tonnes of proppant may be used with an estimated 16 340–23 800 tonnes pumped annually. The majority of proppant used in Queensland is refined sand and is a potential source of exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) during these operations. In 2020 safe exposure levels for RCS was halved from 0.1 to 0.05 mg/m3. Exposure to levels above this threshold may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes, such as respiratory diseases including silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. These diseases are progressive, and typically can take at least 10 years of prolonged exposure to develop symptoms. All silica dust-related diseases are preventable through using effective controls. This paper outlines a study on RCS exposure levels in hydraulic fracturing operations in Queensland. The objective of the study was to understand the adequacy of the current controls in place to protect workers against exposure to RCS following the reduction of the safe exposure levels.
Keywords: fraccing, occupational health, oil and gas workers, RCS, respirable crystalline silica, silica, WES, worker exposure oil and gas, workplace exposure standards.
Chris Barrand was appointed Executive Petroleum Engineer (Well Operations), RSHQ in July 2022. Chris has 16 years’ experience in upstream oil and gas operations in Australia and Africa. Prior to joining RSHQ Chris held roles in both operator and service providers, spanning from Senior Drilling and Completions Engineer to Completions Business Unit Manager. Chris holds a Bachelors in Engineering (Petroleum Engineering) and is an active member of SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) and currently holds the role of Secretary for the SPE Queensland Chapter. |
Radika Lucas is a Chemical Engineer with 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry spanning across upstream, downstream, onshore, and offshore operations. Radika has a strong commitment to worker safety, operations, and risk management and has always aspired to a ‘zero serious harm’ outcome in all roles she has undertaken. It is this shared vision that has led her to join the Petroleum and Gas Inspectorate at RSHQ, as the Deputy Chief Inspector. In addition to her commitment to improve the safety and health of Queensland gas sector workers, Radika is also an avid masters track and field competitor and a mother of two. |
Anne Nissen currently holds the position of Senior Occupational Hygienist at SIMTARs within RSHQ. Anne has completed a Master of Science (Occupational Hygiene Practice) post graduate degree and is a Certified Occupational Hygienist (COH®) through the AIOH. She has spent the past 10 years working as a Hygiene Consultant for the Queensland resources sector conducting numerous health risk assessments and sampling programs. |
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