Fracking Could Cause Cancer, Birth Defects And Infertility

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By Countercurrents.org

18 December, 2013
Countercurrents.org

A study by scientists in the US has shown fracking uses harmful chemicals that could cause cancer, birth defects and infertility. The chemicals put at risk children exposed to contamination.

The study was conducted by Christopher D. Kassotis [1], Donald E. Tillitt [2], J. Wade Davis [3], Annette M. Hormann1 and Susan C. Nagel [1]. The study report “Estrogen and Androgen Receptor Activities of Hydraulic Fracturing Chemicals and Surface and Ground Water in a Drilling-Dense Region” has been published on December 16, 2013 in journal Endocrinology [4].

The scientists in their study report said:

The rapid rise in natural gas extraction utilizing hydraulic fracturing increases the potential for contamination of surface and ground water from chemicals used throughout the process. Hundreds of products containing more than 750 chemicals and components are potentially used throughout the extraction process, including over one hundred known or suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals.

The scientists hypothesized that a selected subset of chemicals used in natural gas drilling operations and also surface and ground water samples collected in a drilling-dense region of Garfield County, CO would exhibit estrogen and androgen receptor activities.

They collected water samples, extracted solid-phase, and measured for estrogen and androgen receptor activities using reporter gene assays in human cell lines.

The report said:

Of the 39 unique water samples, 89%, 41%, 12%, and 46% exhibited estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, androgenic, and anti-androgenic activities, respectively. Testing of a subset of natural gas drilling chemicals revealed novel anti-estrogenic, novel anti-androgenic, and limited estrogenic activities. The Colorado River, the drainage basin for this region, exhibited moderate levels of estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, and anti-androgenic activities, suggesting that higher localized activity at sites with known natural gas related spills surrounding the river might be contributing to the multiple receptor activities observed in this water source. The majority of water samples collected from sites in a drilling-dense region of Colorado exhibited more estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, or anti-androgenic activities than reference sites with limited nearby drilling operations.
The scientists said:

Our data suggest that natural gas drilling operations may result in elevated EDC activity in surface and ground water.

Referring to the study report Sophie Yeo writes [5]:

Some of the chemicals called endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) disturb human body’s hormones function, and have been linked to birth defects and cancer in previous studies.

This could pose a danger to people who live near fracking sites, says Susan C. Nagel.

“With fracking on the rise, populations may face greater health risks from increased endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure.”

The scientists compared areas of heavy drilling in Colorado’s Garfield County, where there are over 10,000 gas wells, with areas where shale gas recovery is sparse at Boone County in Missouri.

Water samples taken from the drilling sites showed a higher level of the hormone-disrupting chemical, showing up quantities that could interfere with the body’s response to testosterone and the reproductive hormone oestrogen.

Colorado River, which provides the drainage for the drilling sites across Garfield County, had moderate levels of the chemicals while volumes from the water samples taken from the drilling sites themselves were moderate to high.

“We found more endocrine-disrupting activity in the water close to drilling locations that had experienced spills than at control sites,” said Nagel.

“This could raise the risk of reproductive, metabolic, neurological and other diseases, especially in children who are exposed to EDCs.”

She adds that, in the US, there are no federal regulations to protect water quality affected by the fracking process, in spite of studies showing its impact upon groundwater.

Politicians have promised a tighter legislative framework should the technology proceed in the UK.

An independent assessment for the UK government today said that large scale shale gas production by the 2020s could boost the UK’s energy security and contribute to economic growth, while ploughing almost £1 billion into local communities through benefit schemes.

While Chancellor George Osborne stood firmly alongside the fracking industry with the announcement of financial support in his autumn statement, environmentalists are opposed to the technology, which they say risks locking the UK into another source of non-renewable energy.

Energy Minister Michael Fallon said at the launch of the government’s report that there could be large amounts of shale gas available across the UK, but we won’t know for sure until further exploration has taken place.

“It is an exciting prospect, which could bring growth, jobs and energy security.

“But we must develop shale responsibly, both for local communities and for the environment, with robust regulation in place.”

Note:

1. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health and Division of Biological Sciences University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211;

2. US Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, 4200 New Haven Rd, Columbia, MO 65201;

3. Department of Health Management and Informatics, Department of Statistics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211

5. RTCC, Dec 17, 2013, “Fracking could cause birth defects, infertility and cancer”,
http://www.rtcc.org/2013/12/17/fracking-could-cause-birth-defects-infertility-and-cancer/

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