By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America – Researchers from the University of Washington and Yale University conducted a study to research the negative impact fracking has on health conditions. Since the start of the United States domestic energy surge in 2003, advocates have blamed oil and gas drilling for a wide range of medical ailments.

Fracking blasts large amounts of water, sand and chemicals deep underground in order to break apart shale deposits and ultimately extract gas and oil. The University study was conducted over a two-year period in Washington County, Pennsylvania. The study surveyed nearly 500 residents of the rural southwestern town, which is home to more than 600 active gas wells.

The study found that residents living within one kilometer of a gas well suffered twice as many health related problems than those who live two kilometers away or further. The recorded health issues include: allergies, nosebleeds, skin rashes, sore throats, itchy eyes, and respiratory conditions.

Other studies have corroborated the claims posed in the University of Washington and Yale University study. Methane and toxic chemicals were found in the drinking water in the area surrounding multiple well sites.

One Pennsylvania resident, Stephanie Tiongco recently filed a lawsuit against an Arkansas-based energy company, which has been drilling just a quarter-mile from her property. Tiongco claims that the fracking has resulted in the death of farm animals and has even caused her hair to start falling out.

A spokeswoman for Pennsylvania State’s health department stated that the agency has not been given a copy of the study before its release, and would be happy to review any data the student researchers have gathered. However, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection failed to return email inquiries regarding the study. Other departments have rejected the studies validity as a whole. Travis Windle, a spokesman for Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale Coalition, states the study was “done in partnership with a local activist group, and was designed to put selective and unproven data behind a pre-determined and biased narrative.”

 

For more information, please see the following:

USA TODAY – People Near ‘Fracking’ Wells Report Health Woes – 10 Sept. 2014.

US NEWS – Respiratory, Skin Problems Soar NEar Gas Wells, Study Says -10 Sept. 2014.

WEATHER CHANNEL –  People Who Live Near Fracking More Likely To Become Sick, Largest Study Of Its Kind Finds – 11 Sept. 2014.  

WASHINGTON POST – Live Near Fracking? You’re More Likely To Report Health Problems, New Study Says – 10 Sept. 2014.