All those health scares associated with fracking have been debunked haven’t they?
FACT: There is a growing body of medical research highlighting concerns into the health impacts of fracking. There are simply too many papers to list them all here, but here’s a selection:
- Young children living near fracking wells (within 2km) at birth are up to three times more likely to later develop leukaemia, and there are still raised levels up to 10km away. Jan 2022, American Chemical Society. Assessing Unconventional Oil and Gas Exposure in the Appalachian Basin: Comparison of Exposure Surrogates and Residential Drinking Water Measurements | Environmental Science & Technology (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c05081);
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/17/young-children-fracking-wells-leukemia-study
- Elderly people (aged 65 and over) living near or downwind of fracking sites are at a statistically significant higher risk of early death. Jan 2022, Harvard TH Chan School of Public HealthLiving near or downwind of unconventional oil and gas development linked with increased risk of early death (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220127114329.htm)
- Expectant mothers who live near natural gas fracking wells are 40% more likely to give birth prematurely and have a 30% increased incidence of ‘high-risk’ pregnancies. October 2015, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Unconventional Natural Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in Pennsylvania, USA (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282361446_Unconventional_Natural_Gas_Development_and_Birth_Outcomes_in_Pennsylvania_USA);
- 55 human carcinogens determined to be potential water or air pollutants come from the fracking process. October 2016, Yale School of Public Health. Fracking Linked to Cancer-Causing Chemicals, New YSPH Study Finds (https://ysph.yale.edu/news-article/fracking-linked-to-cancer-causing-chemicals-new-ysph-study-finds/);