An updated look at petroleum well leaks, ineffective policies and the social cost of methane in Canada's largest oil-producing province.

Temporarily plugged or "suspended" wells pose environmental and economic risks due to the large volume of methane gas leaked. In the Canadian Province of Alberta, which, by far, has the largest number of petroleum wells in Canada, there are no regulations stipulating the maximum length of time a well can be left suspended. In recent years, an increasing number of wells have been put into the suspended state by owners. We show using a large data set obtained from the Alberta Energy Regulator that leak spells have increased between 1971 and 2019. For the same time period, the probability of an unresolved leak has also increased, and the amount of methane emitted per leak has substantially gone up. Lastly, we provide simple social-cost-of methane computations indicating that responsible policies can incentivize well owners towards remediation and reclamation and support efforts to fight climate change and improve upon economic expedience. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10584-021-03044-w.

The use of RapidArc volumetric-modulated arc therapy to deliver stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic body radiotherapy to intracranial and extracranial targets.

Twenty-three targets in 16 patients treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) were analyzed in terms of dosimetric homogeneity, target conformity, organ-at-risk (OAR) sparing, monitor unit (MU) usage, and beam-on time per fraction using RapidArc volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) vs. multifield sliding-window intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Patients underwent computed tomography simulation with site-specific immobilization. Magnetic resonance imaging fusion and optical tracking were incorporated as clinically indicated. Treatment planning was performed using Eclipse v8.6 to generate sliding-window IMRT and 1-arc and 2-arc RapidArc plans. Dosimetric parameters used for target analysis were RTOG conformity index (CI(RTOG)), homogeneity index (HI(RTOG)), inverse Paddick Conformity Index (PCI), D(mean) and D5-D95. OAR sparing was analyzed in terms of D(max) and D(mean). Treatment delivery was evaluated based on measured beam-on times delivered on a Varian Trilogy linear accelerator and recorded MU values. Dosimetric conformity, homogeneity, and OAR sparing were comparable between IMRT, 1-arc RapidArc and 2-arc RapidArc plans. Mean beam-on times ± SD for IMRT and 1-arc and 2-arc treatments were 10.5 ± 7.3, 2.6 ± 1.6, and 3.0 ± 1.1 minutes, respectively. Mean MUs were 3041, 1774, and 1676 for IMRT, 1-, and 2-arc plans, respectively. Although dosimetric conformity, homogeneity, and OAR sparing were similar between these techniques, SRS and SBRT fractions treated with RapidArc were delivered with substantially less beam-on time and fewer MUs than IMRT. The rapid delivery of SRS and SBRT with RapidArc improved workflow on the linac with these otherwise time-consuming treatments and limited the potential for intrafraction organ and patient motion, which can cause significant dosimetric errors. These clinically important advantages make image-guided RapidArc useful in the delivery of SRS and SBRT to intracranial and extracranial targets.

Residual setup errors and dose variations with less-than-daily image guided patient setup in external beam radiotherapy for esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To evaluate residual patient setup errors and daily dose variations of different less-than-daily image guidance (IG) strategies in the delivery of external beam radiotherapy for esophageal cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Daily image-guided setup data for 25 consecutive esophageal cancer patients treated with helical tomotherapy were evaluated. Seven less-than-daily IG strategies with different imaging frequencies were simulated. For each IG strategy, the daily residual setup errors were calculated. Using TomoTherapy Planned Adaptive software, daily dose variations to the clinical target volume, heart, and lungs were evaluated in five representative patients. RESULTS: With 0% (60%) IG frequency, the margins required for adequate coverage of the clinical target volume were 13 mm (10 mm), 14 mm (11 mm), and 5 mm (5 mm) in the left-right, superior-inferior, and anterior-posterior directions, respectively. Even with 60% IG frequency, 10% of the fractions had more than 10% decrease in the dose level covering 95% of the target, and 14% and 13% of the fractions had more than 10% increase in total lung volume receiving at least 0.8 Gy per fraction, and heart volume receiving at least 1.2 Gy per fraction, respectively. CONCLUSION: Substantial residual setup errors would occur for treatment fractions without IG even if the most frequent less-than-daily IG strategy was to be used, which could lead to significant daily dose variations for the target volume and adjacent normal tissues. Daily image guidance is recommended throughout the course of treatment in conformal radiotherapy for esophageal cancer.

Daily electronic portal imaging of implanted gold seed fiducials in patients undergoing radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to measure interfraction prostate bed motion, setup error, and total positioning error in 10 consecutive patients undergoing postprostatectomy radiotherapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Daily image-guided target localization and alignment using electronic portal imaging of gold seed fiducials implanted into the prostate bed under transrectal ultrasound guidance was used in 10 patients undergoing adjuvant or salvage radiotherapy after prostatectomy. Prostate bed motion, setup error, and total positioning error were measured by analysis of gold seed fiducial location on the daily electronic portal images compared with the digitally reconstructed radiographs from the treatment-planning CT. RESULTS: Mean (+/- standard deviation) prostate bed motion was 0.3 +/- 0.9 mm, 0.4 +/- 2.4 mm, and -1.1 +/- 2.1 mm in the left-right (LR), superior-inferior (SI), and anterior-posterior (AP) axes, respectively. Mean set-up error was 0.1 +/- 4.5 mm, 1.1 +/- 3.9 mm, and -0.2 +/- 5.1 mm in the LR, SI, and AP axes, respectively. Mean total positioning error was 0.2 +/- 4.5 mm, 1.2 +/- 5.1 mm, and -0.3 +/- 4.5 mm in the LR, SI, and AP axes, respectively. Total positioning errors >5 mm occurred in 14.1%, 38.7%, and 28.2% of all fractions in the LR, SI, and AP axes, respectively. There was no significant migration of the gold marker seeds. CONCLUSIONS: This study validates the use of daily image-guided target localization and alignment using electronic portal imaging of implanted gold seed fiducials as a valuable method to correct for interfraction target motion and to improve precision in the delivery of postprostatectomy radiotherapy.