An ExxonMobil pipeline built in 1947 spilled 134,000 gallons of gas in Arkansas. Army Corps of Engineers gave the owners of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) the final permit it needed to build across Lake Oahe ( threatening the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s land and water), a pipeline of a DAPL co-owner exploded near New Orleans, killing one and injuring others. Aging pipelines pose special risks as they deteriorate. The DeSmogBlog notes that just this month, the day after U.S. Why the huge difference? Because the EPA chose to only look at the actual fracturing stage, rather than the whole life cycle of the gas and oil production. Once again, the EPA had reported a far lower number- 457 in eight states over a six-year period. Tell that to the residents of Dimock, Pa., who have had their drinking water destroyed, or those in many other communities.Ī newly released study found 6,648 spills in just four states over the past 10 years. With disturbing frequency, new spills or accidents are reported at the same time as industry tries to reassure that fracking brings safe and clean energy.
Fracked gas methane dangers skin#
There was also an association between skin conditions, cancer and urologic problems and the proximity of homes to active wells. This study found that fracking well density was significantly associated with higher inpatient hospitalization for cardiac or neurologic problems. Sleep deprivation has pervasive public health consequences, from causing accidents to chronic diseases.Īnother epidemiologic study from University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University compared the hospitalization rates between a county with active fracking and a neighboring county without. Longer-term exposure to noise pollution contributes to endocrine abnormalities and diabetes, heart disease, stress and depression, and has been linked to learning difficulties in children. Other studies have found that the noise from the drilling itself, the gas compressors, other heavy equipment and the truck traffic is high enough to disturb sleep, cause stress and increase high blood pressure. Cost to employers during the infant’s first year of life averaged $46,004-more than tenfold higher than for a full-term delivery.
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In addition to the personal toll on the families, preemies are very expensive for society-prematurity is a major cause of neurologic disabilities in kids, and their cost of care was more the $26 billion in 2005 alone, or $51,600 per preemie.
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Premature babies accounted for 35% of infant deaths in 2010.
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Contributing factors likely include air and water pollution, stress from the noise and traffic (1,000 tankers/well on average). West Virginia researchers found endocrine-disrupting chemicals in surface waters near wastewater disposal sites these types of chemicals can hurt the developing fetus even when present at very low concentrations.Īnother Hopkins/Geisinger study looked at records of almost 11,000 women with newborns who lived near fracking sites and found a 40% increased chance of having a premature baby and a 30% risk of having the pregnancy be classified as “high-risk,” though they controlled for socioeconomic status and other risk factors.
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Brian Schwartz cautions that residents should be aware of this hazard as “some ‘pristine’ rural areas are converted to heavily trafficked industrial areas.”įracking chemicals are harmful to pregnant women and their developing babies. An epidemiological study of more than 400,000 patients of Pennsylvania’s Geisinger clinic, done with Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, found a significant association between fracking and increases in mild, moderate and severe cases of asthma (odds ratios 4.4 to 1.5). These noxious chemicals and particulates are also released by the diesel powered pumps used to inject the water. Similarly, a toxic waste brew of water and chemicals is often stored in open pits, releasing volatile organic compounds into the air. Toxic gases like benzene are released from the rock by fracking. A variety of health problems are associated with frackingĬough, shortness of breath and wheezing are the most common complaints of residents living near fracked wells.