Spatiotemporal Correlation Analysis of Hydraulic Fracturing and Stroke in the United States

Chuanbo Hu, Bin Liu, Shuo Wang, Zhenduo Zhu, Amelia Adcock, James Simpkins and Xin Li ()
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Chuanbo Hu: Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
Bin Liu: Department of Management Information Systems, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
Shuo Wang: Department of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
Zhenduo Zhu: Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Amelia Adcock: Department of Neurology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
James Simpkins: Department of Neuroscience, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
Xin Li: Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-18

Abstract: Hydraulic fracturing or fracking has led to a rapid growth of oil and gas production in the United States, but the impact of fracking on public health is an important but underresearched topic. We designed a methodology to study spatiotemporal correlations between the risk of fracking and stroke mortality. An annualized loss expectancy (ALE) model is applied to quantify the risk of fracking. The geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model is used to analyze spatiotemporal correlations of stroke mortality, fracking ALE, and nine other socioeconomic- and health-related factors. The analysis shows that fracking ALE is moderately correlated with stroke mortality at ages over 65 in most states of fracking, in addition to cardiovascular disease and drug overdose being positively correlated with stroke mortality. Furthermore, the correlations between fracking ALE and stroke mortality in men appear to be higher than in women near the Marcellus Shale, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia, while stroke mortality among women is concentrated in the Great Plains, including Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Lastly, within two kilometers of the fracking mining activity, the level of benzene in the air was found to be significantly correlated with the fracking activity in Colorado.

Keywords: fracking; stroke mortality; annualized loss expectancy (ALE); geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR); spatiotemporal analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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