Seth B.C. Shonkoff

Seth B.C. Shonkoff, PhD, MPH

Executive Director, PSE Healthy Energy; Visiting Scholar, UC Berkeley; Affiliate, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Dr. Seth Shonkoff is the executive director of the energy science and policy research institute, PSE Healthy Energy. He is also a visiting scholar in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the University of California, Berkeley and an affiliate in the Environment Energy Technology Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. An environmental and public health scientist by training, he has more than 20 years of experience in water, air, climate, and population health research at the energy interface and has published more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and reports. Dr. Shonkoff is a widely recognized expert on the human health and climate dimensions of oil and gas systems. He has testified before congress and other decision-making bodies and has led and co-authored multiple high-profile scientific assessments. His work includes the Human Health chapter of The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and legislated evaluations of oil and gas development, hydraulic fracturing, produced water management and reuse and underground gas storage facilities in the State of California. Dr. Shonkoff sits on a number of science-policy expert panels. Dr. Shonkoff completed his PhD in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and his MPH in epidemiology in the School of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley.

Education

PhD, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, CA, USA

MPH (Epidemiology), University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, CA, USA

BA (Major: Environmental Studies, Minor: Ceramics), Skidmore College. Saratoga Springs, NY, USA

Research Interests / Specializations:

Oil and gas systems, Environmental Public Health, Climate Change, Environmental and Energy Policy

Selected Publications

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
1. Hill LA, Czolowski E, DiGiulio DC, Shonkoff SBC. (2019). Temporal and Spatial Trends of Oil and Gas Waste Disposal in Pennsylvania, 1991 – 2017. Science of the Total Environment. 674:623-636. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719314913
2. Garcia-Gonzales D, Shonkoff SBC, Hays J, Jerrett M. (2019). Hazardous Air Pollutants Associated with Upstream Oil and Natural Gas Development: A Critical Synthesis of Current Peer-Reviewed Literature. Annual Reviews of Public Health. 40:283-304. Available at: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218...
3. DiGiulio DC and Shonkoff SBC. (In Preparation). Risk of drinking water contamination from legacy disposal of oil and gas wastewater in percolation pits in the Rocky Mountain West.
4. DiGiulio DC, Shonkoff SBC, Jackson RB. (2018). The Need to Protect Fresh and Brackish Groundwater Resources During Unconventional Oil and Gas Development. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health. 3:1-7. Available at: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1Wf1I8nIePIe~Z
5. Czolowski E, Santoro RL, Srebotnjak T, Shonkoff SBC. 2017. Towards Consistent Methodology to Quantify Populations in Proximity to Oil and Gas Development: A National Spatial Analysis and Review. Environmental Health Perspectives. Online version available at: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/EHP1535.
6. DiGiulio D, Shonkoff SBC. 2017. Is Reuse of Produced Water Safe? First, Let’s Find out What’s in It. August 2017. EM Magazine, a copyrighted publication of the Air & Waste Management Association.
7. Stringfellow WT, Camarillo MK, Domen JK, Shonkoff SBC. 2017. Comparison of Chemical-Use Between Hydraulic Fracturing, Acidizing, and Routine Oil and Gas Development. PLoS ONE. 12(4): e0175344. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175344
8. Shonkoff SBC, Hays J, Hill LA, Krieger E, Hughes D, Hosang N, Law A. 2016. Trump: Renewables for Self-Sufficiency. Nature. 540:341. Available at: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v540/n7633/pdf/540341b.pdf
9. Hays J, McCawley M, Shonkoff SBC. 2016. Public Health Implications of Environmental Noise Associated with Unconventional Oil and Gas Development. Science of The Total Environment. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969716325724.
10. Krieger E, Casey J, Shonkoff SBC. 2016. A framework for siting and dispatch of emerging energy resources to realize environmental and health benefits: Case study on peaker power plant displacement. Energy Policy. 96:302-313. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421516302798.
11. Hays J, Shonkoff SBC. 2016. Toward an Understanding of the Environmental and Public Health Impacts of Unconventional Natural Gas Development: A Categorical Assessment of the Peer-Reviewed Scientific Literature, 2009-2015. PLoS ONE. 11(4): e0154164. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0154164.
12. Hays J, Finkel M, Depledge M, Law A, Shonkoff SBC. 2015. Considerations for the development of shale gas in the United Kingdom. Science of The Total Environment. 512-513: 36-42. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969715000078.
13. Ingraffea A, Wells M, Santoro R, Shonkoff SBC. 2014. Assessment and Risk Analysis of Casing and Cement Impairment in Oil and Gas Wells in Pennsylvania: 2000-2012. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. 111 (30): 10955-10960. Available at: http://www.pnas.org/content/111/30/10955.abstract.
14. Shonkoff SB, Hays, J, Finkel, MF. 2014. The Public Health Dimensions of Shale Gas Development. Environmental Health Perspectives. 122 (8): 787-795. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307866.
15. Law A, Hays J, Shonkoff SB, Finkel, ML. 2014. Re: Public Health England’s reply to Editorial on its Draft Report on Shale Gas Extraction. BMJ. 348:g3280.
16. Law A, Hays J, Shonkoff SB, Finkel, ML. 2014. Public Health England’s Draft Report on Shale Gas Extraction: Mistaking Best Practices for Actual Practices. BMJ. 348:g2728.
17. Shonkoff SB. 2013. Shale gas and Tight Oil Development: Look Before We Leap. Global Energy Affairs. Available at: http://globalenergyinitiative.org/insights/103-shale-gas-tight-oil-devel...
18. Shonkoff SB, Morello-Frosch R, Pastor M, Sadd J. 2011. Environmental Health and Equity Implications of Climate Change and Mitigation Policies in California: A Review of the Literature. Climatic Change. Volume 109. Supp. 1.
19. Smith KR, Jerrett M, Anderson HR, Burnett RT, Stone V, Derwent R, Atkinson RW, Cohen A, Shonkoff SB, Krewski D, Pope CA, 3rd, Thun MJ, Thurston G. 2009. Public Health Benefits of Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse-Gas Emissions: Health Implications of Short-Lived Greenhouse Pollutants. The Lancet. 374(9707): 2091-2103.
20. Shonkoff SB, Morello-Frosch R, Pastor M, Sadd J. 2009. Minding the Climate Gap: Implications of Environmental Health Inequities for Mitigation Policies in California. Environmental Justice 2(4): 173-177.
21. Spencer DF, Ksander GG, Donovan MJ, Liow PS, Chan WK, Greenfield BK, Shonkoff SB, Andrew S. 2006. Evaluation of Water Hyacinth Survival and Growth in the Sacramento Delta, California, Following Cutting. The Journal of Plant Management. 44: 50-60.
PEER-REVIEWED TECHNICAL REPORTS
1. Hill LA, Blythe R, Krieger EM, Smith A, Shonkoff SBC. 2020. The Public Health Dimensions of California Wildfire Prevention, Mitigation and Suppression. PSE Healthy Energy. July 2020. Available at: www.psehealthyenergy.org/wildfire-and-health
2. Shonkoff SBC, Hill LA. (2020). Analysis of air quality data near well stimulation treatments in California: implications for human health. A Report Prepared for the California Air Resources Board. PSE Healthy Energy. July 2020.
3. Hill LA, Banan Z, Shonkoff, SBC. 2020. Estimation and Quantification of Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Activities in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. PSE Healthy Energy. April 2020.
4. Hill LA and Shonkoff SBC. (2020). The Environmental Health Dimensions of Oil and Gas Development. In: Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves. (Samuel Myers and Howard Frumkin, Eds). Island Press.
5. Shonkoff SBC and Hill LA. (2019). Human health and oil and gas development: A review of the peer-reviewed literature and assessment of applicability to the City of Los Angeles. PSE Healthy Energy. Oakland, CA. Available at: https://www.psehealthyenergy.org/our-work/publications/archive/human-hea...
6. Shonkoff SCB, Hill LA, Domen, JK. (2019). Human health and oil and gas development: An assessment of chemical usage in oil and gas activities in the Los Angeles Basin and the City of Los Angeles. PSE Healthy Energy. Oakland, CA. Available at: https://www.psehealthyenergy.org/our-work/publications/archive/human-hea...
7. Shonkoff SBC, Hill LL, Domen JK. (2021). California Produced Water Quality: Implications for Human Health and the Environment. In: A Preliminary Evaluation of Data Collected Pursuant to California Senate Bill 1281, An Independent Review of Scientific and Technical Information. California Council on Science and Technology. Sacramento, CA.
8. DiGiulio D and Shonkoff SBC. (2021). Impact to Groundwater Resources from Disposal of Produced Water into Unlined Produced Water Ponds in the San Joaquin Valley. In: A Preliminary Evaluation of Data Collected Pursuant to California Senate Bill 1281: an Independent Review of Scientific and Technical Information. California Council on Science and Technology. Sacramento, CA.
9. DiGiulio D, Hill LA, Shonkoff SBC. (2019). Evaluation of the Draft EPA Report “Study of Oil and Gas Extraction Wastewater Management Under the Clean Water Act (EPA‐ 821‐R19‐001), May 2019”. PSE Healthy Energy. Oakland, CA. Available at: https://www.psehealthyenergy.org/our-work/publications/archive/evaluatio...
10. Morello-Frosch R, Pastor M, Sadd J, Shonkoff SBC. (2018). The Climate Gap: Inequalities in How Climate Change Hurts Americans and How to Close the Gap. In: Planning for Climate Change. (Elizabeth L. Hammin Infield, Yaser Abunnasr and Robert L. Ryan, Eds.). Routledge Press.
11. Lindsey B, Feinstein L, Shonkoff SBC, Hill LA, Mace AJ, Brady SE. (2018). An Assessment of Oil and Gas Water Cycle Reporting in California. In: A Preliminary Evaluation of Data Collected Pursuant to California Senate Bill 1281: an Independent Review of Scientific and Technical Information. California Council on Science and Technology. Sacramento, CA. July 2018.
12. Shonkoff SBC, Hill LA, Czolowski ED, Prasad K, Hammond SK, McKone TE. 2018. Human health hazards, risks, and impacts associated with underground gas storage in California. In: Long-Term Viability of Underground Natural Gas Storage in California: An Independent Review of Scientific and Technical Information. California Council on Science and Technology, Sacramento, CA. January 2018. Section 1.4, Pages 167-279. Available at: http://ccst.us/projects/natural_gas_storage/publications.php.
13. Shonkoff SBC, Domen JK, Stringfellow WT. 2016. Hazard Assessment of Chemical Additives Used in Oil Fields that Reuse Produced Water for Agricultural Irrigation, Livestock Watering, and Groundwater Recharge in the San Joaquin Valley of California: Preliminary Results. PSE Healthy Energy. September 2016. Available at: http://psehealthyenergy.org/data/Preliminary_Results_13267_Disclosures_F...
14. Krieger E, McPhail A, Millstein D, Shehabi A, Czolowski E, Hays J, Casey J, Shonkoff SBC. 2016. The Clean Power Plan in Pennsylvania: Analyzing power generation for health and equity. PSE Healthy Energy. July 2016. Available at: http://psehealthyenergy.org/site/view/1301
15. Krieger E, McPhail A, Millstein D, Shehabi A, Czolowski E, Hays J, Casey J, Shonkoff SBC. 2016. The Clean Power Plan in Ohio: Analyzing power generation for health and equity. July 2016. PSE Healthy Energy . Available at: http://psehealthyenergy.org/site/view/1301
16. (In alphabetical order) Crane, CM, English P, Heller J, Kirsch J, Kuiper H, Kyle AD, Ostro B, Rudolph L, Shonkoff SBC. 2016. An Assessment of the Health and Safety Implications of Coal Transport through Oakland: Public Health Advisory Panel on Coal. Oakland, CA June 14, 2016. Available at: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/w/oak059227.
17. Garcia-Gonzales DA, Shonkoff SBC. 2016. Hazardous Air Pollutants from Oil and Gas Development in the United States: A Systematic Review of the Peer-Reviewed Literature from 2012-2015. A Report Submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. March 2016. PSE Healthy Energy, Oakland, CA.
18. Shonkoff SBC, Maddalena RL, Hays J, Stringfellow W, Wettstein ZS, Harrison, R, Sandelin W, McKone, TE. 2015. Potential Impacts of Well Stimulation on Human Health in California. In: An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation in California. California Council on Science and Technology, Sacramento, CA. Available at: http://ccst.us/publications/2015/vol-II-chapter-6.pdf
19. Shonkoff SBC, Jordan P, Brandt A, Ferrar K, Maddalena RL, Greenfield BK, Jerrett, M, Heberger M, McKone TE. 2015. Public Health Risks Associated with Current Oil and Gas Development in The Los Angeles Basin. In: An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation in California. California Council on Science and Technology, Sacramento, CA. pp. 213-266. Available at: http://ccst.us/publications/2015/vol-III-chapter-4.pdf
20. Shonkoff SBC, Gautier D. 2015. A Case Study of the Petroleum Geological Potential and Potential Public Health Risks Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing and Oil and Gas Development in The Los Angeles Basin. In: An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation in California. California Council on Science and Technology, Sacramento, CA. pp. 200-266. Available at: http://ccst.us/publications/2015/vol-III-chapter-4.pdf.
21. Smith KR, et al. (Shonkoff SB contributing author). 2013. Chapter 11. Human Health: Impacts, Adaptation, and Co-Benefits, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Assessment Report 5 (AR5). https://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/images/uploads/WGIIAR5-Chap11_FINAL.pdf
22. Jerrett M, Su JG, Ortega Hinojosa OM, Kontgis C, Shonkoff SB, Yuen T, Seto E, Jesdale, B, Morello-Frosch R. 2012. Mapping Climate Change Exposures, Vulnerabilities and Adaptation to Public Health Risks in the San Francisco Bay and Fresno Regions. A Report for The California Energy Commission. July 2012. Available at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/2012publications/CEC-500-2012-041/CEC-500-2012-....
23. Morello-Frosch R, Pastor M, Sadd J, Shonkoff SB. 2009. The Climate Gap: Inequalities in How Climate Change Hurts Americans & How to Close the Gap. The Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE). University of Southern California. Available at: http://dornsife.usc.edu/pere/publications/
24. Shonkoff SB, Morello-Frosch R, Pastor M, Sadd J. 2009. Environmental Health and Equity Impacts from Climate Change and Mitigation Policies in California: A Review of the Literature." In: Cal-EPA Climate Action Team Report. Available at: http: www.climatechange.ca.govpublicationscatindex.html
25. Greenfield BK, Jahn A, Grenier JL, Shonkoff SB, Sandheinrich M. 2006. Mercury in Biosentinel Fish in San Francisco Bay: First Year Project Report: A report of the Regional Monitoring Program Exposure and Effects Pilot Study. San Francisco Estuary Institute; River Studies Center, University of Wisconsin.
26. Greenfield BK, David N, Siemering GS, McNabb TP, Spencer DF, Ksander GG, Donovan MJ, Liow PS, Chan WK, Shonkoff SB, Andrews SP, Andrews JC, Rajan M, Howard V, Sytsma M, Earnshaw S, Anderson LWJ. 2005. Aquatic Pesticide Monitoring Program Non-Chemical Alternatives Year 3 Final Report. APMP Technical Report: San Francisco Estuary Institute Contribution 390. Oakland, CA.
27. Pearce S, McKee L, Shonkoff SB. 2005. Pinole Creek Watershed Sediment Source Assessment. Oakland, California. San Francisco Estuary Institute Contribution 316.
28. Greenfield BK, Wittner E, David N, Shonkoff SB, Davis JA. 2004. Monitoring Trace Organic Contamination in Delta Fish: Current Data and Future Steps. A report to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. San Francisco Estuary Institute Contribution 99. Oakland CA.
29. 18. Hayworth J, David N, Shonkoff SB. 2004. Phase 2 (2003) Bioassessment of Waterbodies Treated with Aquatic Pesticides. San Francisco Estuary Institute Contribution 117. Oakland, CA.
30. Pearce SA, McKee LJ, Shonkoff SB. 2004. San Pedro Creek Watershed Sediment Source Analysis, Volume III: Tributary sediment source assessment. A report prepared for the City of Pacifica, California. San Francisco Estuary Institute Contribution 87. Oakland, CA.
CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS
1. Srebotnjak T, Shonkoff SB, Czowolski E. 2017. Quantifying Populations in Proximity to Oil and Gas Development: A National Spatial Analysis and Review. Conference on Statistical Practice 2018, Portland, OR.
2. Shonkoff SB, Stringfellow W, Domen J, Camarillo MK. From ‘Fracking’ to Oil and Gas Development: Chemical Constituents and Potential Implications for the Beneficial Reuse of Produced Water. American Chemical Society Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA – March 16, 2016
3. Shonkoff SB. Environmental and Public Health Impacts of Shale Oil and Gas Development, Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC), University of Oregon School of Law – March 2, 2013
4. Shonkoff SB. Where Global Meets Local: Climate Change Mitigation Strategies and Population Health Co-Benefits. Global Health: Breaking Borders and Boundaries Conference, UC Davis – April 9, 2011.
5. Shonkoff SB. Climate Change and Health: Direct and Indirect Health Effects. Global Health: Breaking Borders and Boundaries Conference, UC Davis– April 9, 2011.
6. Shonkoff SB, Chafe Z, Smith KR. 2010. Addressing Inconsistencies in Black Carbon Literature. Poster presented at the American Geophysical Union. Session Title: Black Carbon's Role in Global to Local Air Quality and Climate Change. San Francisco, CA. December 15, 2010.

Honors and Awards

1. Pioneer Under 40 in Environmental Public Health; Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) -- July 2017
2. Emerging Leader, Emerging Leaders Fund; $270,000, The Claneil Foundation -- April 2014-Present
3. Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, UC Berkeley -- Fall 2012

Recent Teaching:

ES 196 Environmental Science Senior Thesis Seminar (Fall 2010 to Spring 2012)

ESPM 155 - Sociology of Natural Resources (Fall 2009)

ESPM C167/PH 160 - Environmental Health and Development (Fall 2008)

Other Information

Expert Committees Served

Co-Chair (November 2020 – Present), Public Health Expert Panel, California Geologic Energy Management Division, California Department of Conservation, Sacramento, CA. Appointed as the co-chair of an independent public health expert panel to provide subject matter expertise and scientific guidance to the California Geologic Energy management Division (CalGEM) and other California state agencies as they move through a legislated public health rulemaking process to update their regulations to better protect public health during oil and gas development in the State of California pursuant to AB 1057 (Limon, 2019).
Public Health Expert (October 2019 – January 2020), Baldwin Hills Health Assessment and Environmental Justice Study, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Appointed by the Baldwin Hills Community Advisory Panel of the Inglewood Community Standards District and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to develop the scope and design of a health assessment and environmental justice study for the Baldwin Hills Community Standards District covering the Inglewood Oilfield, Los Angeles, CA.

Chair ( May 2019 – November 2019) , Technical Advisory Committee, Shale health conference, League of Women Voters and University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA . Provided subject matter expertise to advise on speakers and format for a conference on public health and shale gas development.
Member (April 2019 – Present), Technical Advisory Group, AB 617 Methane Monitoring Project, Imperial County and Eastern Coachella Valley, CA.
Expert Committee Member, Senate Bill 83 Independent Review Panel for the California Department of Conservation’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program, California Environmental Protection Agency and California Natural Resources Agency (February 2018 – Present). Provided expertise on the management, tracking, chemical characterization and public health dimensions of oilfield produced water.
Expert Committee Member, Food Safety Expert Panel on Oil Field Produced Water for Agricultural Irrigation, California Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Oct 2015 – Present). Provided public health and oil and gas technical expertise and guidance on the issue of the use of oil field produced water for agricultural irrigation.
Peer-Reviewer, RFA National Priorities: Oil and Gas Development in the Appalachian Basin, United States Environmental Protection Agency (Jan – Feb 2017). Provided public health and oil and gas technical expertise to assess academic proposals for a $2 million award.
Expert Panel Member, Public Health Advisory Panel on Coal in Oakland (March 2015 – July 2015). Provided environmental public health expertise and scientific guidance on the issue of coal transport, handling, processing, and export.
Member of the Steering Committee, California Council on Science and Technology Study of Well Stimulation Technologies in California, Senate Bill 4 (SB 4) Study (June 2014 – July 2015). Provided public health and oil and gas development expertise and guidance to report authors at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, The Pacific Institute, and Stanford University.
Member of the Steering Committee, California Council on Science and Technology Study of Well Stimulation Technologies in California, United States Bureau of Land Management (March 2013 –July 2014). Provided public health and oil and gas development expertise and guidance to report authors; peer review of analysis and writing.