From the Environmental Health News, January 12, 2021

EHN’s Pittsburgh reporter Kristina Marusic recently appeared on the podcast In This Climate to discuss the impacts of fracking in southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond.

She shared the story of a community in Braddock, Pennsylvania, that’s been fighting to stop a fracking well from being drilled on the property of a U.S. Steel mill. After recounting a heated community meeting where residents heckled and shouted at representatives from the fracking company, she explained why people in similar communities are so concerned about having fracking wells nearby.

Marusic discussed studies she’s reported on for EHN that found fracking chemicals have built up in the shells of freshwater mussels, caused rare birth defects in horses, and have been linked to numerous health harms in humans.

“Fracking has been linked to a range of health effects in more than a thousand studies including low birth weights, asthma, migraines, heart problems and birth defects,” Marusic explained. “People in communities with fracking are fearful about the exposures they’re facing from the industry.”

In This Climate is a weekly podcast out of The Media School and the Environmental Resilience Institute at Indiana University that covers weather, wildlife, human resilience, and the ever-changing environment. Marusic helped kick off the podcast’s series on fracking.

https://www.ehn.org/podcast-about-fracking-health-impacts-2649793551.html

From Lou Pochet to Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 6, 2020

We should all be pleased that Gov. Tom Wolf has allocated public money, namely $3 million, to study gas industry effects and cancer, especially child cancers in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

As a chemist, I can only imagine how complex it will be to study multiple possible effects of a controversial heavy industry like shale gas development.

For such a study, it is critical to include an advisory/review group composed of citizens in the affected counties as well as scientists.

Citizen participation is critical to ensure that those in the community feel their voices are heard and can increase the likelihood of open doors when the needed samples are collected.

This advisory board should be included in the review of projects to be undertaken and ways the public can stay informed of work in progress.

Members of this board may also be effective educators in explaining to the public the rationale behind the decisions made.

This is about our tax dollars and the health of our kids. Everyone deserves to know how public money is spent and how to protect our kids from pollution.

Lou Pochet, Hempfield, PA

https://triblive.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-gas-industry-cancer-study-applauded/?fbclid=IwAR3eYEGbkijG24jbD9mM_nlx-H3nbJh_ZDFFLp4ECy1LbozUplNt2HLrBUg

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