Monitoring Pollution Around Shell

- PurpleAir Monitors (as seen in the image above, focusing on particles and volatile organic compounds – neither at regulatory quality)
- Airviz Monitors (focusing on particles and volatile organic compounds – neither at regulatory quality)
- EPA/PA Department of Environmental Protection Monitors (map version, data table version)
- Shell’s own fence line monitoring page
- Eyes on Shell: You can participate in this team of community members educating themselves about pollution issues at Shell and documenting what they see/hear/smell.
- Nurdle Patrol: Documenting plastic nurdles near Shell.
Social Media Resources
- Sign up for the #NoPetroPA e-mail list here: http://eepurl.com/cW5NrL
- Sign up for the #NoPetroPA Facebook Group for news and updates here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/142886152878914
- Sign up for the Shell Cracker Impact Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/ShellCrackerImpact
Key Contacts
- For inquiries about the NoPetroPA movement and/or website, contact Mark Dixon at mark@lens.blue (there is no dot-com in the address).
- For inquiries about bringing healthy economic development to Beaver County, contact Reimaginebeavercounty@gmail.com.
Information About Shell and Their Petrochemical Plastics Plant
- You can view real-time low-cost air monitors deployed by community members in the region around Shell here: PurpleAir & Airviz. Feel free to contact us if you have questions about how to interpret these monitors. It is helpful to examine multiple monitors before drawing conclusions. These monitors may have something wrong with them or be misleading in peculiar ways that we can help you sort out.
- Shell is making its own fenceline monitoring information available to the public via this website: https://www.shell.us/about-us/projects-and-locations/shell-polymers/fenceline-monitoring-flm-program.html
- 2022 Guide to the Petrochemical Expansion by Fractracker – very thorough and useful information: https://www.fractracker.org/petrochemicals/guide/
- Excellent fact sheet by the Breathe Project — The Shell Ethane Cracker: What You Need to Know
- What you need to know about Shell’s Petrochemical Facility (“Ethane Cracker”) – http://cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/Shell-Factsheet-4.pdf
- Ethane Cracker Discussion in Regional Air Pollution Report –https://www.fractracker.org/2013/09/swpa-preta/
- Health Impact Assessment (77 pages!) – http://cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/HIA-Final.pdf
- FracTracker’s “A Formula for Disaster: Calculating Risk at the Ethane Cracker“
- FracTracker’s primer on the Falcon Ethane Pipeline.
- RoyalDutchShellPlc.com is a great site tracking Shell’s unfortunate influence on the world.
- The DEP air quality permit for the Shell Petro Plant.
- FracTracker released new maps of the petrochemical buildout along the Ohio River.
- StateImpact Pennsylvania has this explainer page all about the Shell Ethane Cracker.
Various Groups Working on Shell Petro Plant and/or Tri-State Petro Issues
(This list does not imply any endorsement to/from the #NoPetroPA and the groups listed below)
- 350.org – http://www.350.org
- Allegheny County Clean Air Now – http://www.accan.org
- Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC) – https://www.marcellusawareness.org/
- Breathe Project – https://breatheproject.org/
- Center for Coalfield Justice – https://www.coalfieldjustice.org/
- Citizens to Protect Ambridge Reservoir (CPAR) – http://www.marcellusawareness.org
- Clean Air Council – http://cleanair.org/
- Clean Water Action – http://www.cleanwateraction.org/states/pennsylvania
- Communities First (Sewickley) – http://www.facebook.com/communitiesfirstsewickleyvalley
- Earthworks – https://earthworks.org/
- Environmental Integrity Project – https://www.environmentalintegrity.org
- Food & Water Watch – http://foodandwaterwatch.org
- Fossil Free Pitt Coalition – http://www.facebook.com/FossilFreePitt
- FracTracker Alliance – https://www.fractracker.org/
- Free the Planet (UPitt) – http://www.facebook.com/PittFreeThePlanet
- Interfaith Power & Light – http://www.interfaithpowerandlight.org
- Lancaster Against Pipelines – http://www.wearelancastercounty.org
- Marcellus Outreach Butler – https://www.marcellusoutreachbutler.org/
- Mountain Watershed Association – http://www.mtwatershed.com/
- NoCrackerPlantOV.com
- OVEC (Ohio River Valley Environmental Coalition, Inc.) – https://ohvec.org/
- People Over Petro Coalition – https://peopleoverpetro.org/
- Penn Environment – http://www.pennenvironment.org
- PennFuture – http://www.pennfuture.org
- Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Water and Air – http://www.pennsylvaniaallianceforcleanwaterandair.wordpress.com
- Protect PT – http://www.protectpt.org/
- Sierra Club – http://www.sierraclub.org
- Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project – http://www.environmentalhealthproject.org
- The Climate Reality Project – http://www.climaterealitypghswpa.org
- Three Rivers Waterkeeper – http://www.threeriverswaterkeeper.org
- WeRisePGH – https://www.facebook.com/WeRisePgh
- Women for a Healthy Environment – http://www.womenforahealthyenvironment.org
FrackTracker has also released an informative map of many, many movements against fossil fuels via this online map/database: https://www.fractracker.org/resources/clean-energy-action/.

Jobs vs. Environment = A False Choice
- The Environmental Integrity Project released a report (pdf) examining the connection between jobs and the environment, with several findings relevant to the discussion around the viability and necessity of the Shell Petrochemical Plant:
- According to information reported by employers to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 0.2% of “mass” layoffs – layoffs of 50 or more workers – are caused by government intervention or regulations (of any kind, not just environmental regulations).
- For every job lost due to regulations, 15 are lost due to “cost cutting” and 30 are lost due to “organizational changes” (e.g., change in ownership).
- Over the last decade, the benefits of environmental regulations have exceeded the costs they impose by a ratio of more than ten to one, according to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
- All told, major regulations provide net economic benefits to the U.S. of over $500 billion per year.
- In 2009, Economists at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst found that per dollar of spending, solar and wind energy projects create twice as many jobs as coal or natural gas, including more jobs in manufacturing and construction, and more “high-credentialed” jobs at an average hourly wage of $24.50.
Moving Beyond Traditional Plastic
- Join #BreakFreeFromPlatic, a “Global Movement to Stop Plastic Pollution for Good” at https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/ . This international movement is growing fast and currently includes over 1,279 organizations.
- The Guardian: Can Mushrooms Replace Plastic? “We’re able to compete with an entrenched billion-dollar plastic industry because we’re not extracting things,” Bayer said last week, at the fall conference of the Social Venture Network (SVN) in Baltimore. “We’re leveraging the power of biology.” It is also worth noting that the Pittsburgh region boasts virtually infinite old mines, which can be used to grow mushrooms. Indeed, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported back in 2008 (article here) that Creekside Mushrooms operates the largest underground mushroom growing facility about an hour northeast of of Pittsburgh in Worthington, PA. This PennState web page indicates that they use “150 miles of abandoned limestone tunnels encompassing 800 acres beneath the surface with production capability of 60 million pounds annually.”
- The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics (A report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation) “The circular economy is gaining growing attention as a potential way for our society to increase prosperity, while reducing demands on finite raw materials and minimising negative externalities. Such a transition requires a systemic approach, which entails moving beyond incremental improvements to the existing model as well as developing new collaboration mechanisms.” A stunning quote from the executive summary of the report indicates that the externalities (problems) associated with plastic cost more to society than the profits that companies make from their production. Note: “A staggering 32% of plastic packaging escapes collection systems, generating significant economic costs by reducing the productivity of vital natural systems such as the ocean and clogging urban infrastructure. The cost of such after-use externalities for plastic packaging, plus the cost associated with greenhouse gas emissions from its production, is conservatively estimated at USD 40 billion annually — exceeding the plastic packaging industry’s profit pool.”
- HempPlastic.com “Designed in Europe over 15 years and now produced in China, Hemp Plastics compete with engineering compounds in properties such as stiffness and high heat tolerance (HDT).”
- Plastics can put harmful chemicals into our food. According to the New York Times, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a report “urging families to limit the use of plastic food containers, cut down on processed meat during pregnancy and consume more whole fruits and vegetables rather than processed food. Such measures would lower children’s exposures to chemicals in food and food packaging that are tied to health problems such as obesity, the group says.” – NYTimes, July 23, 2018, “Chemicals in Food May Harm Children, Pediatricians’ Group Says“
Press
- 7/3/22: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – In Beaver County, the cracker plant’s opening is finally near, bringing clouds of hope and fear (mentions community air monitors deployed around Shell)
- 6/14/22: State Impact Pennsylvania – In Beaver County, a mix of hope and fear over startup of Shell’s ethane cracker
- 5/9/22: Chemical & Engineering News – Preparing for Petrochemicals: Shell expects to start making plastics in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, this summer. Do neighboring communities know what to expect? – Great information about local monitoring efforts. (Mentions community air monitors deployed around Shell)
- 4/22/22: Yes! Magazine – Fighting Off a Petrochemical Future in the Ohio River Valley
- 3/25/22: WESA – Sulfuric acid spills from storage tank at Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County
- 11/3/21: Yale e360 Magazine – More Eyes on Polluters: The Growth of Citizen Monitoring (mentions community air monitors deployed around Shell)
- 10/4/21: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Sniffing out danger? Funky odor from the Shell cracker plant put the community on alert
- 10/5/20: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – As Shell’s construction moves into final stage, citizens organize environmental self-defense classes
- 6/4/20: Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis – IEEFA report: Financial risks loom for Shell’s Pennsylvania petrochemicals complex
- 10/11/19: The Guardian – Will a push for plastics turn Appalachia into next ‘Cancer Alley’?
- 8/22/19: Michigan Public Radio – Climate Cast – Chemical fingerprints point to fracking as culprit behind new methane emissions
- 8/21/19: Penn Live – Sixth man admits role in altering emission control devices on trucks used in Marcellus Shale gas fields
- 8/20/19: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Beaver County agency did poor job overseeing major pipeline projects, the state found, yanking its power
- 8/19/19: QUARTZ – Virgin plastic pellets are the biggest pollution disaster you’ve never heard of
- 8/17/19: NPR – Pa. Workers Forced To Choose Between Watching Trump, No Pay Or Using Paid Time Off
- 8/13/19: New York Times – At Chemical Plant Under Construction, Trump Builds List of Grievances (The article includes a link to a post by NoPetroPA via the word “gathered” in this quote: “Still, protesters argued that the plant was a threat to the environment and to people’s health. Several groups gathered at the Beaver County Courthouse before the president’s remarks to express their concerns that the plant will produce more than a million tons of plastic, in the form of tiny pellets, at a time when there is increasing concern about plastic debris in the oceans and recycling continues to falter in the United States.”)
- 8/12/19: New York Times – A Giant Factory Rises to Make a Product Filling Up the World: Plastic — Royal Dutch Shell’s plant will produce more than a million tons of plastic [per year], in the form of tiny pellets. Many in the Pittsburgh area see it as an economic engine, but others worry about long-term harm. (See #5 ranked comment on the article by Mark Dixon of NoPetroPA here: https://nyti.ms/2McKeCr#permid=101960129)
- 8/8/18: Earthworks – Shell’s Falcon: A Pipeline and an Incomplete Plan
- 8/5/18: Business Insider – LEGO launch their first sustainable blocks made from sugarcane – and they hope to roll it out to most products by 2030
- 8/3/18: DailyKos – Breaking: Retired teacher sentenced to 2 – 6 months in case brought by Energy Transfer Partners
- 7/20/18: E&E News – Ethane is about to crack in Appalachia. Now it needs a market
- 7/1/18: DeSmog Blog – As Industry Pushes Billion-Dollar Fracked Petrochemical Projects, State Regulators Struggle To Keep Up
- 6/29/18: Today Online – China’s plastic recyclers go abroad as import ban bites
- 6/22/18: The Times – DEP finds ‘deficiencies’ in Shell Pipeline’s permit application
- 6/22/18: State Impact – Rachel Carson Trail near Pittsburgh has a new feature: A fracking well
- 6/18/18: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – China hits pause on Appalachian energy investment citing trade war concerns
- 6/18: Blue Ridge Outdoors – APPALACHIA’S $84 BILLION SECRET; China and the U.S. are planning a massive petrochemical hub in West Virginia
- 6/11/18: State Impact – Court rejects fracking company’s appeal in “rule of capture” decision
- 6/1/18: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Protesters want Pittsburgh’s mayor to take a stand against Beaver County cracker plant
- 5/2/18: Truthout – Don’t Underestimate the Anti-Pipeline Resistance
- 2/16/18: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Data to the people: Activists use explosion of information to bring oil and gas projects home to citizens
- 5/3/18: EcoWatch – The Link Between Fossil Fuels, Single-Use Plastics and Climate Change
- 2/6/18: DeSmog Blog – China Is Financing a Petrochemical Hub in Appalachia. Meet its Powerful Backers.
- 2/16/18: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Building a pipeline, one landowner at a time
- 7/26/17: Pittsburgh Quarterly – What Will the Shell Cracker Bring Along With It? Friends and foes see it in different ways.
- 7/20/17: Business Insider – Why millennials are snubbing jobs in the oil industry
- 7/19/17: RoyalDutchShellPlc.com (not a Shell website) – Pipeline Opposition to Shell Chemicals’ $6 billion ethane cracker plant in USA
- 7/17/17: NPR – Natural Gas Building Boom Fuels Climate Worries, Enrages Landowners (a great summary of pipeline projects)
- 7/14/17: Allegheny Front – Shell’s Pennsylvania Chemical Plant Brings Hope for Jobs, Fear of Pollution
- 7/11/17: Public Source – The Right to ‘Know What Goes Up Your Nose’ (all about fenceline monitoring, to which Shell has not committed for their Beaver County ethane cracker facility)
- 7/13/17: LongReads – The Louisiana Environmental Apocalypse Road Trip
- 5/31/17: FracTracker – Piecing Together an Ethane Cracker; How fragmented approvals and infrastructure favor petrochemical development
- 5/3/17: FracTracker – Understanding in Order to Prepare: Ethane Cracker Risk and Disclosures
- 3/27/17: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Shell complex in Louisiana provides blueprint for Beaver County (Part 2)
- 3/26/17: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Life between two Shell plants (Part 1)
- 3/23/17: Allegheny Front – Is a petrochemical boom heading for Pennsylvania?
- 3/20/17: The State Journal – Shell plant construction shows massive project’s impending impact
- 2/20/17: Truthout – Chemical Plant Boom Spurred by Fracking Will Bring Smog, Plastic Glut, and Risks to Workers’ Health
- 2/3/17: Allegheny Front – The Debate Over Shell’s Water Permit Pollution is Heating Up
- 1/17/17: Press Release: Residents, Groups Call on Potter Township to Deny Shell Cracker Permit (Clean Air Council)Chemical fingerprints point to fracking as culprit behind new methane emissions
- 3/15/12: Allegheny Front – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT ETHANE CRACKERS
We’re always eager to receive recommendations of additional media references to add to this site. Please send suggestions via our comment form.
