Fracking Is Dangerous To Your Health — Here’s Why

Fracking, or drilling for gas by hydraulic fracturing, has been associated with a growing number of health risks. Last week, I began this series looking at some of the hazardous chemicals injected into the wells to make drilling easier and cheaper, and the growing risks to our health by the GOP rushing through the approval of Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This post looks in greater depth at the health problems linked to fracking.

These are not hypothetical concerns—there are now more than 700 studies looking at risks—and more than 80% of the health studies document risks or actual harms. It’s also important to note that , because the environmental agencies have been downplaying the risks to the public. A new looks in-depth at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) misconduct and negligence, as the DEP studiously ignored citizens’ complaints, sometimes not even testing water samples. are the most common complaints of residents living near fracked wells. Toxic gases like benzene are released from the rock by fracking. Similarly, a toxic waste brew of water and chemicals is often stored in open pits, releasing volatile organic compounds into the air. These noxious chemicals and particulates are also released by the diesel powered pumps used to inject the water. An epidemiological study of […]

Full article: Fracking Is Dangerous To Your Health — Here’s Why

More about fracking waste and water:

New study examines impacts of fracking on water supplies worldwide

Oil and gas wastewater radioactivity persists in Pennsylvania stream sediments

Pennsylvania watershed contaminated with radioactive material and endocrine-disrupting chemicals

5 Million Gallons of Freshwater Used to Frack Just One Well

Penn State study: Spraying brine from drilling, fracking on roadways is hazardous