Is fracking good for your health? An analysis of the impacts of unconventional gas on health and climate (original) (raw)
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Health and fracking: Should the medical profession be concerned?
South African Medical Journal, 2014
South Africa (SA) is about to embark on exploratory high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract the huge reserves of natural gas contained in shale rock. [1] There has been much controversy around this decision as, on the one hand, this could reduce our carbon footprint (natural gas releases 58% less carbon dioxide than coal) and could have significant economic benefits for the country; while, on the other hand, there are concerns about the environmental and health impacts. [2] Some countries, such as France and Bulgaria, have banned fracking, while others such as the UK believe that it can be performed safely if regulations are strictly enforced. [3] The USA has been one of the leaders in fracking, which has transformed their reliance on imported fossil fuels, although some states, such as New York, are calling for a comprehensive health assessment before giving permission. [4] Although fracking has been taking place for a decade in the US, there is surprisingly little scientific evidence on the health impacts. It cannot be concluded that an absence of evidence of harm implies that no harm may result. [5] This article attempts to summarise the health concerns and discuss them within the SA context. The current situation Permission has been granted to initiate exploratory fracking in an area of >200 000 km 2 in SA, which will affect the Karoo, parts of the Free State, Northern and Eastern Cape, and a portion of KwaZulu-Natal. If the gas deposits are found to be financially viable, thousands of wells could potentially be drilled in these areas. [6]
Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 36 (1), 105-114., 2018
This paper compares a government-commissioned health study of coal seam gas (CSG) developments in Queensland with international best-practice health impact assessment (HIA) methodologies. A literature review was conducted of (HIA) methods and health studies of CSG development areas in Queensland. Forty-eight interviews were conducted in the Darling Downs CSG region in Queensland. One Queensland Health report was identified but failed to meet HIA international best practice because 7 of 9 key steps were omitted. Interview participants reported poor consultation by government and industry within affected communities. Lack of and poor quality health data was found to exacerbate community tensions. We recommend application of HIAs, epidemiological studies, consultation with communities and consideration of social risks of poor quality health studies.
2014
This is a submission by the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy and Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science and the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London. It focuses in particular on the implications of fracking for the UK’s targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This submission builds on the evidence collected in the course of the study ‘A UK ‘dash’ for smart gas’ (Bassi et al., 2013). The main points of this submission: Shifting from coal to natural gas – either from conventional or unconventional domestic sources, or from imports – for electricity generation could help the UK power sector to decarbonise in the near term. Gas-fired power plants could also play an important back-up role as the share of renewable electricity in generation increases. In the longer term, gas-fired power plants will have to be either replaced by low-carbon alternatives or fitted with carbon cap...
Modern Natural Gas Development and Harm to Health: The Need for Proactive Public Health Policies
ISRN Public Health, 2013
High-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing of shale formations has the potential to make natural gas a significant, economical energy source, but the potential for harm to human health is often dismissed by proponents of this method. While adverse health outcomes of medical conditions with long latency periods will not be evident for years and will depend on the exposure, duration of exposure, dose, and other factors, we argue that it would be prudent to begin to track and monitor trends in the incidence and prevalence of diseases that already have been shown to be influenced by environmental agents. The dirty downside of modern, unconventional natural gas development, as well as the potential for harm, is discussed.
Fracking: The environmental impacts in the UK and US
Fracking or hydraulic fracturing is the technique used to extract unconventional gas and oil from shale rock formation by injecting large amount of water, sand and some additive chemicals. Although, unconventional gases are know to emit little Carbondioxide into the environment unlike conventional fuels contributing to reduction in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere but reports have some that if fracking is not properly carried out, it could lead to some environmental demeanors like groundwater and surface water contamination, earthquakes, air pollution, land biodiversity, noise pollution and even adverse effect on the global climate due to methane release. Fracking had begun for a long time in the US reducing their dependence on conventional fuel and making the country an exporter of fuel instead of importing from OPEC but at what risk?
Hydraulic fracturing for natural gas: impact on health and environment
Reviews on Environmental Health, 2016
Shale deposits exist in many parts of the world and contain relatively large amounts of natural gas and oil. Recent technological developments in the process of horizontal hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracturing or fracking) have suddenly made it economically feasible to extract natural gas from shale. While natural gas is a much cleaner burning fuel than coal, there are a number of significant threats to human health from the extraction process as currently practiced. There are immediate threats to health resulting from air pollution from volatile organic compounds, which contain carcinogens such as benzene and ethyl-benzene, and which have adverse neurologic and respiratory effects. Hydrogen sulfide, a component of natural gas, is a potent neuro- and respiratory toxin. In addition, levels of formaldehyde are elevated around fracking sites due to truck traffic and conversion of methane to formaldehyde by sunlight. There are major concerns about water contamination because the chemica...