Study Links Fracking to Asthma Attacks
Lorraine Chow EcoWatch July 20, 2016
Another study has further cemented how fracking can be a human health hazard. People who live close to fracking wells have a higher risk of asthma attacks among asthma patients, according to a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study.
The paper, published yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine, focused on Pennsylvanias Marcellus Shale, one of the countrys most active and notorious fracking regions. In the years between
Researchers fly over 8,000 well pads and find hundreds of methane leaks
Elizabeth Lepro PublicSource April 7, 2016
As Pennsylvania’s natural gas production continues to expand, so does the possibility of potentially harmful methane emissions.
A new study from scientists in the Environmental Defense Fund’s Oil and Gas program examined the most common sites for methane leaks at oil and gas pads nationwide. A team of researchers partnered with Gas Leaks Inc., a company that uses infrared technology to inspect well pads, to fly a
Study: Fracking Industry Wells Associated With Premature Birth
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health October 12, 2015
NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS INCREASED RISK OF ADVERSE PREGNANCY OUTCOMES CLOSER TO ACTIVE UNCONVENTIONAL NATURAL GAS WELLS
Expectant mothers who live near active natural gas wells operated by the fracking industry in Pennsylvania are at an increased risk of giving birth prematurely and for having high-risk pregnancies, a new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.
The findings, published online last week in the journal Epidemiology, shed light on some
Marcellus Gas Facilities, Near To One Another Or Even Linked, Are Evaluated Individually For Pollution
Don Hopey Pittsburgh Post-Gazette October 6, 2013
More than 450 natural gas compressor stations and processing plants have been built in Pennsylvania since 2008, when Marcellus Shale gas development kicked into another, higher gear.
Collectively, the rapidly multiplying facilities emit tens of thousands of tons of pollutants a year. And the growing emissions load may eventually lead to poorer air quality, according to environmental organizations.
Despite that emissions load, none of those Marcellus gas facilities are grouped together for permitting
Health Project Finds Air Pollution Could Pose More Threat Than Water Contamination
Health Project Finds Air Pollution Could Pose More Threat Than Water Contamination
Katie Colaneri StateImpact PA August 26, 2013 Email
A nonprofit health project examining the long-term impacts of natural gas drilling in Washington County has released preliminary findings that shows air pollution may be more damaging than water pollution, according to the Associated Press.
Since February 2012, the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project has gathered information from residents who believe their health has been affected by nearby
Methane Leaking in Utah Suggests Higher National Rate
Andrew Freedman Climate Central August 6th
A new study of the air above a natural gas field in Utah suggests that far more methane gas may be escaping into the atmosphere from drilling operations than previously estimated. The study, to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, is the first to use an aircraft to directly sample the air downwind of natural gas and oil wells in order to calculate emissions of methane and contributors to smog. Most other
DEP: Nat Gas Operators Must Submit Air Quality Plans
Katie Colaneri StateImpact PA August 8, 2013
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection released final criteria for its new, stricter air quality permit rules for natural gas production sites.
All well operators must now submit air quality plans for approval by the DEP before constructing new well sites, unless their practices and standards are stricter than federal rules and regulations. “Oil and gas well sites in Pennsylvania had been granted blanket exemptions from obtaining approvals since 1996,” according to
Legislation Introduced to Eliminate Fracking Industry Loophole
EcoWatch July 25, 2013
Fracking is now responsible for 90 percent of domestic oil and gas production, with thousands of wells popping up across the nation. The number of wells is expected to skyrocket during the next two decades.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 requires the safe disposal of solid waste and hazardous materials. In 1980, RCRA was amended to exempt waste from the production and development of oil and natural gas (“exploration & production” waste),
Sick From Fracking? Doctors, Patients Seek Answers
NPR May 15, 2013
Click here to listen to NPRs audio version of this story.
Kay Allen had just started work, and everything seemed quiet at the Cornerstone Care community health clinic in Burgettstown, Pa. But things didnt stay quiet for long.
All the girls, they were yelling at me in the back, You gotta come out here quick. You gotta come out here quick, said Allen, 59, a nurse from Weirton, W.Va.
Allen rushed out front and knew
State Checking Air Quality In Gas Drilling Areas
Dan Ratchford WNEP TV News May 14, 2013
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is testing air quality this week in Susquehanna County in the area with the most natural gas activity.
DEP says with so much drilling and fracking and so many compressor stations being built to help transport the gas, some have questioned if the air is being polluted.
Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is the process of using liquid to break up underground shale to extract natural gas.
