Pennsylvania doctors support fracking ban

Posted 11/3/16

PENNSYLVANIA — The 300-member House of Delegates of the Pennsylvania Medical Society voted unanimously on October 23 to vote for a ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The resolution …

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Pennsylvania doctors support fracking ban

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PENNSYLVANIA — The 300-member House of Delegates of the Pennsylvania Medical Society voted unanimously on October 23 to vote for a ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The resolution (tinyurl.com/hwrpw8e) sited various health and environmental impacts of fracking, and it was critical of the drilling industry and the state legislature.

The resolution says, “Whereas, many individuals and families have had nosebleeds, dermatological, respiratory, neurological and GI symptoms, and the industry has denied any wrongdoing but has forced non-disclosure agreements in exchange for fresh water and money; and whereas Pennsylvania’s legislature has refused to create a health registry, collect data, or study the health effects of fracking, essentially obstructing the scientific study of this industry,” the society therefore supports a moratorium on fracking and the establishment of a health registry and a commission to study health impacts.

The resolution noted that the Marcellus Shale formation, which is targeted in fracking operations, underlies 60% of the land in Pennsylvania, and more than 10,000 wells have been drilled that have employed fracking over the past decade.

Three years ago, the society rejected a similar resolution, but in the meantime more studies have been conducted that raise questions about fracking and health impacts.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s office has said the governor does not support a fracking ban.

The action comes after a new health study by the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was released in August showing that residents with the highest exposure to fracking, “are nearly twice as likely to suffer from a combination of migraine headaches, chronic nasal and sinus symptoms and severe fatigue” (tinyurl.com/heeovgn.)

A press release about this study says, “The researchers found that 1,765 respondents (23%) suffered from migraines, 1,930 people (25%) experienced severe fatigue and 1,850 (24%) had current symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis (defined as three or more months of nasal and sinus symptoms).

“While no single health condition was associated with proximity to active wells, those who met criteria for two or more of the health conditions were nearly twice as likely to live closer to more or larger wells.

“‘We don’t know specifically why people in close proximity to these larger wells are more likely to be sick,’ said the study’s senior author Brian S. Schwartz, MD, MS, a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Bloomberg School. ‘We need to find a way to better understand the correlation and, hopefully, do something to protect the health of these people.’

“Previous research conducted by Schwartz and colleagues has linked the fracking industry to increases in premature births, asthma attacks and indoor radon concentrations.”

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