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High Fracking areas have high levels of endocrine disrupting chemicals: Study
Source: CBS News, Date: , 2013
Areas known
to have a high incidence of fracking with a history of drilling spills have
higher levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals that might harm the hormonal
system, a new study revealed. Why fracking is controversial Fracking, or hydrolic fracturing, is a way to break up
rocks by using pressurized liquid in order to get oil and natural gas out of
them. Water is usually mixed with sand and other chemicals and forced at high
pressures into a hole dug into the ground or a wellbore. This results in tiny
cracks or fractures in the rock layer below the ground. The sand holds the
fractures open after the pressure is removed, and the mining team can go in and
remove the substances they need. However,
some of the chemicals used in the process are known as endocrine-disrupting
chemicals (EDCs). These compounds have been shown to interrupt the hormone
production system and have been linked to infertility, cancer and birth
defects. The Environmental Protection
Agency said that improper fracking can lead to lower
surface water and ground water supplies, contamination of drinking and surface
water surfaces, and problems when chemical discharges enter surface waters or
injection wells. It can also lead to air pollution when compounds, air pollutants
and greenhouse gases are released as a result of the mining. "More
than 700 chemicals are used in the fracking process, and many of them disturb
hormone function," study's authors Susan C. Nagel, an associate professor
of obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health at the University of Missouri
School of Medicine in Columbia, Mo., said in a press release. "With fracking on the rise,
populations may face greater health risks from increased endocrine-disrupting
chemical exposure." The
researchers looked at 12 suspected or known endocrine-disrupting chemicals
using in fracking. Fracking for natural
gas They took ground and water samples from areas in
Garfield County, Mo. -- which has more than 10,000 active natural gas drilling
sites -- where there was a history of drilling spills or accidents. In
addition, samples were taken from areas of Garfield County with less drilling
activity. The same was done for Boone County, Mo., which also has a lot of
drilling sites. Fracking:
"Facts" obscured by both sides of debate The water samples from the highly populated drilling
sites had moderate to high levels of EDCs that could change how a body reacts
to androgens, which include hormones like testosterone, and estrogen.
Samples taken from the Colorado River, where natural gas drilling sites often
drain into, also had moderate levels. Samples
taken from areas that didn’t have much drilling activity had lower levels of
EDCs. “Fracking is
exempt from federal regulations to protect water quality, but spills associated
with natural gas drilling can contaminate surface, ground and drinking
water," Nagel said. "We found more endocrine-disrupting activity in
the water close to drilling locations that had experienced spills than at
control sites. This could raise the risk of reproductive, metabolic,
neurological and other diseases, especially in children who are exposed to
EDCs."
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