"The results of three studies by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the University of Pittsburgh confirm what residents have long suspected."
"PITTSBURGH — Residents living near fracking wells were more likely to experience childhood cancer, severe asthma attacks and low birth weights, found three long-awaited studies on fracking and health released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Tuesday evening.
The three studies, conducted in collaboration with researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s school of public health, looked at health records and fracking data from 2010-2020 in the 8-county Southwestern Pennsylvania region, including Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
Pennsylvania ranks second only to Texas in natural gas production, with most drilling happening in the southwestern part of the state. The state’s health department initiated the research in 2019 after a rash of rare childhood cancers were documented in some of the state’s most heavily-fracked counties. In response to pleas from impacted communities, former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf allocated $3 million for the studies to investigate the health impacts of fracking in the region."
Kristina Marusic reports for Environmental Health News August 16, 2023.
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