Fracking and its Associated Health Concerns
- Benzene Poisoning
- Stillborn Babies and Other Birth Complications
- Respiratory Problems
- Fires, Explosions and Asphyxiation Danger
- Cancer
Public health authorities, academics and regulators are starting to wake up to an uncomfortable reality: The new energy practices surrounding hydraulic fracturing threaten public health, according to Villanova University. Industrial executives and lawmakers have had multiple economic incentives to turn their backs on the health and environmental problems created by hydraulic fracturing, called “fracking” for short.
Fracking is extremely lucrative, and it also seems to be the solution to some of the complex energy problems the USA is facing. It offers a method for accessing natural gas deposits that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive to extract from the depths of the earth.
The problem is that each instance of fracking involves injecting massive volumes of chemicals, including harmful, cancer-causing chemicals, into the environment. These harmful chemicals are responsible for causing a multitude of alarming health conditions.
The following are five of the most critical pubic health concerns about fracking:
1. Benzene Poisoning
According to the CDC, Benzene is one of the toxic chemicals that petroleum companies use for injecting into the earth’s surface to extract the natural gas out of the shale deposits in the earth. As a result, there have been numerous cases of benzene poisoning in homes located close to fracking operations. Fracking causes air pollution and pollution of wells and drinking water supplies, according to The New York Times. It also causes benzene exposure, resulting in headaches, fatigue, vomiting, skin rashes, nosebleeds and numerous other health problems.
2. Stillborn Babies and Other Birth Complications
In an article published in 2015, Rolling Stone reports on a dramatic increase in the number of stillborn babies, premature babies and babies born with birth defects near a high-traffic fracking operation. The stories are heartbreaking. In 2013 alone, 10 babies were stillborn in this small American town. A study that appeared in Epidemiology reveals that nearby fracking is correlated with an increase in both the number of preterm births and in the number of high-risk pregnancies.
There is no straightforward and easy way to conclusively prove that fracking is responsible for all these tragic birth outcomes; nevertheless, there is a high probability that the fracking was a causative factor.
3. Respiratory Problems
Silica dust exposure from fracking causes respiratory problems, lung disease, lung cancer, silicosis and other health conditions. Analysts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) performed field studies on the topic of workers’ exposure to unhealthy levels of crystalline silica. In response, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a hazard alert warning the public about the dangers of exposure to silica dust during hydraulic fracturing. Petroleum industry workers are at greatest risk of exposure, but the public is also at risk.
4. Fires, Explosions and Asphyxiation Danger
Elevated methane levels result in explosions, risks of apparently spontaneous combustion, widespread fires and asphyxiation dangers near fracking wells and drilling operations.
In 2014, fracking in Hot Springs, North Carolina caused high environmental levels of methane gas that transformed simple tasks like cooking meals into life-threatening ordeals for the local residents. According to social media accounts of the incident, the fire risks were so extreme that residents of Hot Springs were advised to carry fire extinguishers with them.
5. Cancer
We’ve already discussed that fracking causes contamination of drinking water sources with benzene and other harmful chemicals, resulting in numerous health conditions that surface almost immediately. An even more urgent concern is that benzene and these other chemicals are known by scientists to cause cancer in the long term. In light of the results from scientific studies that are being conducted, experts are predicting that cancer cases will surge in the future in areas where fracking is being conducted.
These are some, but not all, of the causes for concern that are directly caused by fracking. There are other indirect causes for concern as well. One of them is the fact that disproportionately high numbers of oil and gas industry workers die because regulators have not imposed the same workplace safety precautions in their industry that workers in other industries have to follow. For example, most truckers must abide by federal highway safety rules that are designed to prevent them from working too many hours and getting overtired. In the petroleum industry, there are exemptions to these rules. The exemptions result in grueling work hours for truckers and many traffic fatalities. Fracking is endangering both workers and the public.
These public health concerns about fracking urgently need to be addressed by both lawmakers and industry executives for the health and safety of everyone involved.
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