NORTON META TAG

20 December 2013

Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals Found At Fracking Sites Linked To Cancer, Infertility: Study & What Does the Data Actually Tell Us about the Risks Associated with Fracking? & Science, Democracy, and Fracking: A Guide for Community Residents and Policy Makers Facing Decisions over Hydraulic Fracturing 20DEZ&OKT13

THIS is a cartoon from 2011, and with this report turns out our fears were justified. From the Union of Concerned Scientist and HuffPost.....

fracking chemicals
Hormone-disrupting chemicals linked to cancer, infertility and a slew of other health problems have been found in water samples collected at and near hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," sites in Colorado, according to a new study published in the journal Endocrinology this week.
Researchers say they found elevated levels of these chemicals -- known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) -- in surface water and groundwater samples collected in the state's Garfield County, a fracking hotspot with more than 10,000 natural gas wells.
Water samples taken from the Colorado River, a drainage basin for the region, were also found to have significantly higher-than-normal levels of EDCs, the researchers said.
EDCs, which have the ability to interfere with normal hormone action, have been linked to a number of health issues. Last year, the World Health Organization issued a report highlighting the health risks associated with the chemicals, including cancer, infertility and impaired neural and immune function. Previous studies have also suggested that EDCs may have adverse effects on the reproductive system in both women and men.
"With fracking on the rise, populations may face greater health risks from increased endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure," Susan Nagel, a veteran endocrinologist at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, told the Los Angeles Times. Nagel was the lead author of the recent study on fracking and EDCs.
In 2010 and again in 2012, Nagel and a team of researchers collected several water samples at five natural gas sites in Garfield County, where fracking wastewater spills are known to have occurred in the last few years. The researchers then tested the samples for four different classes of EDCs. "Of the 39 unique water samples, 89 percent, 41 percent, 12 percent, and 46 percent exhibited estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, androgenic, and anti-androgenic activities, respectively," the report says. The team also gathered water samples from the Colorado river, as well as from areas in Garfield County that are located a significant distance away from natural gas wells. Other samples came from an area in Missouri where there is no fracking.
The researchers said water samples collected from the spill sites and the Colorado river had significantly higher levels of EDCs than those gathered from the control sites in Garden County and Missouri.
Water can contain small amounts of estrogenic substances naturally. However, "Nagel said that although estrogenic substances can be found naturally occurring in water, she did not know of similar sources of anti-estrogenic or anti-androgenic chemicals," the Times reports.
Troublingly, Nagel told The Huffington Post that the people living in the areas of Garfield County where the samples were taken all primarily get their water from local wells. This means that some residents in the area may very well be consuming water laden with these higher levels of EDCs.
"This is a canary in a coal mine that we need to pay attention to," Nagel told the HuffPost of the findings. "And it is absolutely a cause for concern."
Nagel added, however, that more research needs to be conducted to confirm the link between the EDCs found in the samples and fracking.
In their study, the researchers did not test their samples for specific fracking chemicals. Nagel said that a similar study should be conducted again, but with a larger sample size.
Fracking is a process in which millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are blasted underground to break apart rock and release oil and gas. "The process is exempt from some regulations that are part of the Safe Drinking Water Act, and energy companies do not have to disclose the chemicals they use if they consider that information a trade secret," the Times writes.
In 2011, however, a Congressional report revealed a list of some 750 chemicals and compounds that are used for fracking. A ProPublica report said at the time that the list includes "29 chemicals that are either known or possible carcinogens or are regulated by the federal government because of other risks to human health."
Nagel told the HuffPost that researchers have since found more than 100 known or suspected EDCs in this list, as well.
With billions of dollars on the line, fracking -- and its impact on the environment and public health -- has been a contentious and controversial issue for years. Gas and oil lobbyists maintain that the practice is environmentally sound and perfectly safe (an industry lobbyist told the Times that Nagel's study was "inflammatory"), while environmental groups including Food and Water Watch and the Sierra Club have continued to sound the alarm on fracking's possible effects on our health and that of our planet.
Part of the problem is that studies looking into fracking's effects on public health remain inconclusive and preliminary. Still, there has been no shortage of anecdotal evidence of fracking's impact.
Earlier this year, for instance, it was reported that residents in Bokoshe, Okla., had filed a class-action suit against gas companies that had been fracking in the area. Oklahoma's News 6 reported at the time that "hundreds of millions of gallons" of fracking wastewater had been discharged at Bokoshe. Residents say this activity has triggered a spate of health issues, including cancer, in the town.
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/20/fracking-chemicals-cancer-study_n_4468243.html?ref=topbar
Related News On Huffington Post:
 

Around the Web:
Hormone-disrupting chemicals found in water at fracking sites
Fracking chemicals can disrupt hormones
Fracking chemicals could cause infertility, cancer and birth defects, study finds
Chemicals linked to infertility, birth defects and cancer found at fracking sites
Chemicals Found In Fracking Fluid Could Give You Cancer
Fracking chemicals linked to hormone disruption
Chemicals used in 'fracking' can disrupt human hormone function, MU ...
Chemicals used in fracking may disrupt hormone function, study finds
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals found at fracking sites

What Does the Data Actually Tell Us about the Risks Associated with Fracking?

Ask a Scientist - October 2013
Patrick Simon of Oscada, MI, asks "With all the polarized discussion about fracking in the news lately, what does the evidence and data actually tell us about the risks associated with this extraction process for oil and natural gas?" and is answered by Dr. Gretchen Goldman, an analyst with Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.  
Technological advances such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (commonly known as “fracking”) have resulted in the rapid expansion of unconventional oil and gas extraction from shale and other tight rock formations that had been previously deemed inaccessible or too costly to tap. While these techniques have been used for several decades to extract oil from shale in Texas and elsewhere, fracking for oil and natural gas has now expanded into some 28 U.S. states, creating new risks in new places.
One of the risks is the potential for drinking-water contamination. Many fracking sites around the country have operated successfully with no known water contamination issues. But the risk of serious problems is real and borne out by the evidence. We have already seen documented cases of groundwater contamination near oil and gas wells from fracking fluids as well as from gases, including methane and volatile organic compounds. Surface waters also face contamination risks from potential spills and leaks of chemical additives, diesel or other fluids from equipment on site, or leaks of wastewater from facilities for storage, treatment, and disposal. Water quantity issues can also present risks: the large volume of water used in fracking operations has already raised concerns about water availability in some water-scarce regions.
Water issues may get more attention in the media, but unconventional oil and gas development also poses documented risks from air pollution. Some areas where drilling occurs have experienced increases in concentrations of hazardous air pollutants, particulate matter, and ozone. Air pollutants are emitted during the well completion phase, when most of the water and chemicals flow back from a well, and during onsite processing to separate the fuels from other substances. And some communities have faced significant air pollution from the increased truck traffic carrying water and materials to and from the well site.
Earthquake risks are also a serious consideration. Oil and gas production using hydraulic fracturing is not generally associated with earthquakes detectable at the surface. Rather, concern about seismic activity stems primarily from the deep injection of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing operations. This wastewater injection has been linked to large earthquakes, such as one earthquake on November 5, 2011 that was felt in 17 states.
As serious as these particular environmental risks may be, communities must also weigh the socioeconomic impacts of oil and gas development that use fracking, considering effects on the social fabric, crime rates, public services, and community resources. Such impacts are complex and will be different for different localities. If you live in a community considering fracking, it is important to question decision makers and the companies involved on a wide range of issues until you are satisfied with the answers. To help communities ask the right questions, UCS has developed a toolkit for communities faced with decisions around fracking. It draws upon advice and experience from leading experts and community stakeholders who attended a forum about fracking held by the Center for Science and Democracy this summer in Los Angeles, California.
For even more details on the evidence about risks associated with unconventional oil and gas development, and the challenges communities face in making science-informed decisions about fracking, check out the new UCS report, Toward an Evidence-Base Fracking Debate: Science, Democracy, and Community Right to Know in Unconventional Oil and Gas Development.
As an analyst for the Scientific Integrity Initiative at the UCS Center for Science and Democracy, Gretchen Goldman researches influences and interference in how science is used in federal government policies. Dr. Goldman holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Atmospheric Science from Cornell University.
http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/ask/2013/fracking.html

Science, Democracy, and Fracking: A Guide for Community Residents and Policy Makers Facing Decisions over Hydraulic Fracturing

Recent advances in hydraulic fracturing ( or “fracking”) technology leading to a rapid expansion in domestic oil and gas production.  The pace of growth is driving many communities to make decisions without access to comprehensive and reliable scientific information about the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on their local air and water quality, com­munity health, safety, economy, environment, and overall quality of life.
If you are an active citizen in a community facing decisions about fracking, this toolkit is for you. It provides practi­cal advice and resources to help you identify the critical questions to ask and get the scientific information you need when weighing the prospects and risks of shale oil or shale gas development in your region.
This toolkit can improve decision making on fracking by helping you to:
  • Identify critical issues about the potential impacts of fracking in your area, and how to obtain answers to your questions
  • Distinguish reliable information from misinformation or spin—and help your neighbors and local decision makers do the same
  • Identify and communicate with scientists, journalists, policy makers, and community groups that should be part of the public discussion
  • Identify and engage with the key actors in your community to influence oil and gas policy at the local and state level

What Are People Saying About Fracking?

If you're curious about the current state of the national conversation about fracking, you might find the results of our post-forum survey enlightening. UCS blogger Deborah Bailin looks at the language respondents used and explores the implications for policy makers and activists.

Appendices

Take Action Now! 

Help ensure that your community is making informed decisions on hydraulic fracturing by sharing our informational toolkit with your state legislator.
Posted by Bucknackt at 22:04
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