Fracking

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved dangerous chemicals that break down into PFAS for use in fracking in 2011, according to records obtained by Physicians for Social Responsibility and reported by The New York Times. Despite EPA scientists having identified preliminary evidence the carcinogenic, and birth-defect-linked substances could degrade into those “forever chemicals” and […]

A fracking boom in the Gulf of Mexico poses a major risk to human health and wildlife, a new report from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) has found. The report, published Wednesday, calculated that oil and gas companies had dumped at least 66.3 million gallons of fracking fluids into the vulnerable waters of the […]

By Kristina Marusic Living among fracking wells is linked to higher rates of hospitalizations and deaths due to heart attacks, according to a new study. The study, published in the Journal of Environmental Research, compared heart attack rates in Pennsylvania counties with fracking to demographically similar counties in New York where fracking is banned. “There’s […]

What is fracking? Fracking is a process of blasting water, chemicals and frac sand deep into the earth to break up sedimentary rock and access natural gas and crude oil deposits. The fracking industry, which has sought to promote the practice as safe and controlled, has preferred the term “hydraulic fracturing.” Fracking emerged as an […]

While the hazards of fracking to human health are well-documented, first-of-its-kind research from Environmental Health News shows the actual levels of biomarkers for fracking chemicals in the bodies of children living near fracking wells far higher than in the general population. The research fills a gap in the science between the health harms experienced by […]

Thomas H. Goebel The way companies drill for oil and gas and dispose of wastewater can trigger earthquakes, at times in unexpected places. In West Texas, earthquake rates are now 30 times higher than they were in 2013. Studies have also linked earthquakes to oil field operations in Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and Ohio. California was […]

By Tara Lohan A sign at the north end of Kanab, Utah, proclaims the town of 4,300 to be “The Greatest Earth on Show.” It’s a rare case of truth in advertising. Kanab sits just seven miles north of the Arizona state line, at the crossroads of some of the Southwest’s most beautiful places. In […]

Environmental groups are suing to stop the Trump administration from fracking in California. The suit, filed in Los Angeles Tuesday, comes in response to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) decision to open more than a million acres of public lands to oil and gas leasing, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The decision was finalized […]