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- PLEASE NOTE: Change in Zoom access code for today’s hearing
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- Must attend! Stillwater County Planning Board: Wednesday, August 7, 7pm
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Tag Archives: Pennsylvania
New scientific study shows fracking is strongly related to infant mortality
A new scientific study published this week in the Journal of Environmental Protection shows, for the first time, a clear correlation between fracking and the death of newborn infants.
The study showed that infant deaths decreased by 2.4% across the state during the period of the fracking boom from 2007-2010. However, in the 82,558 births in the 10 most-fracked counties, there was a significant increase in mortality (238 vs. 193, a 23.3% increase). These results are statistically significant at a 95% level of confidence.
According to the authors, that means 50 babies died over three years because they happened to be born near a fracked well. Stunning.
What’s more, the greatest increases in death occurred in counties with the highest dependence on private water wells, and in the counties with the greatest number of operator violations of wastewater disposal regulations.
This is a very important study for rural Montanans in areas where fracking is likely. They depend on private wells for precious water, they live in a state that is lax in protecting landowners, and the company most likely to come in and drill is a serial polluter with a track record of violations in the very counties in Pennsylvania that were studied.
To read more, click the link. Continue reading
New study links fracking to migraines, fatigue, sinus problems
New research suggests that Pennsylvania residents with the highest exposure to active wells are nearly twice as likely to suffer from a combination of migraine headaches, chronic nasal and sinus symptoms and severe fatigue.
The research reminds us that Montana is one of the few oil and gas producing states with no mandated minimum distances, or setbacks, between wellheads and occupied buildings. The Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation recently considered the issue of setbacks, but decided to require only notification of residents when a well is about to be drilled nearby. Carbon County recently became the first county in Montana to pass a county-wide setback restriction as part of the County’s growth plan revision.
This study is part of a growing body of evidence that oil and gas drilling has substantial negative impacts on human health. Montana remains woefully behind in protecting its residents from these health effects. Continue reading
New study: Women living near fracked wells have increased likelihood of high-risk pregnancies, pre-term births
A new study in Pennsylvania shows that expectant mothers who live near active natural gas wells are at an increased risk of giving birth prematurely and of having high-risk pregnancies.
This study is one of the first results of a remarkable new partnership that we told you about last November. This partnership promises to cut through the secrecy and legal protections that the oil and gas industry enjoys by employing technology, science, and the collaboration of creative scientists and citizen activists all over the world.
Brian Schwartz, lead research in the study, says, “The growth in the fracking industry has gotten way out ahead of our ability to assess what the environmental and, just as importantly, public health impacts are,…The first few studies have all shown health impacts. Policymakers need to consider findings like these in thinking about how they allow this industry to go forward.”
These findings directly relate to local regulation proposed by landowners in Stillwater and Carbon counties along the Beartooth Front. The regulations address the issues raised by the study as possible causes of adverse health outcomes. Those regulations are just common sense, and should be supported. Continue reading
New study: drilling causes water contamination in Pennsylvania wells
An analysis of drinking water sampled from three homes in Bradford County, Pennsylvania revealed traces of a compound commonly found in Marcellus Shale drilling fluids, according to a study published on Monday. “This is the first documented and published demonstration … Continue reading
New report: Montana does not provide public information on legal violations committed during drilling
“Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” -Justice Louis Brandeis, 1913 A brand new report highlights the transparency, or lack of it, of public records on oil and gas drilling in different states. It is yet another clear … Continue reading
Pennsylvania trade secret rule in jeopardy, thanks to one committed physician
We’ve often discussed how state laws are tilted in favor of oil and gas companies, but some laws are so outrageous they need to be held up to special public scrutiny. When such laws are passed, it becomes a civic … Continue reading
Finding the truth about the health impacts of drilling in the Information Age: a remarkable new study
We are coming closer to a “smoking gun” that ties fracking to negative health outcomes. It will take time — the Shale Revolution is only ten years old and the health impacts will take years to reveal themselves, and the … Continue reading
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