http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/36593-high-levels-of-toxins-found-in-bodies-of-people-living-near-fracking-sites
[links in on-line article]
High Levels of Toxins Found in Bodies of People Living Near Fracking Sites
Monday, 27 June 2016 00:00
By Maureen Nandini Mitra, Earth Island Journal | Report
Many of the toxic chemicals escaping from fracking and natural gas
processing sites and storage facilities may be present in much higher
concentrations in the bodies of people living or working near such
sites, new research has shown.
In a first-of-its-kind study combining air-monitoring methods with new
biomonitoring techniques, researchers detected volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) released from natural gas operations in Pavillion,
Wyoming in the bodies of nearby residents at levels that were as much as
10 times that of the national averages.
Some of these VOCs such as benzene and toluene are linked to chronic
diseases like cancer and reproductive and developmental disorders.
Others are associated with respiratory problems, headaches, nosebleeds,
and skin rashes.
"Many of those chemicals were present in the participants' bodies at
concentrations far exceeding background averages in the US population,"
notes the study, titled "When the Wind Blows: Tracking Toxic Chemicals
in Gas Fields and Impacted Communities," which was released last week.
Some residents of Pavillion have for years been concerned about the rise
in health issues that they suspected were connected to emissions from
the gas production activities. This tiny town of less than 250 people
has been at the center of the growing debate on fracking since 2008 when
locals began complaining that their drinking water had acquired a foul
taste and odor back in 2008.
In 2014, air monitoring data showed some toxic chemical emissions at oil
and gas sites in Wyoming were up to 7,000 times the "safe" levels set by
US federal environmental and health agencies. In March of this year,
Stanford University researchers found evidence that fracking operations
near Pavillion were contaminating the local groundwater.
Now this new study, conducted by researchers with the national
environmental health organization Coming Clean, establishes clearly that
at least some of these harmful chemicals are making their way into the
bodies of nearby residents.
The study focused on measuring ambient levels of a specific family of
VOCs named BTEX chemicals -- which include benzene, toluene,
ethylbenzene, and xylenes -- because these chemicals are known to be
hazardous to human health even at low levels. Researchers then used new
biomonitoring methods to detect these chemicals in 11 local residents
who volunteered to participate in the study by wearing air quality
monitors and providing blood and urine samples, and found evidence of
eight hazardous chemicals emitted from Pavillion gas infrastructure in
the urine of study participants.
"The biomonitoring confirmed what we knew," Wilma Subra, an
award-winning biochemist and one of the scientists involved in the
project, told Earth Island Journal. "This clearly indicates that there
is a need of control mechanisms to curb the emissions in order to reduce
exposure of those living near these operations."
The study leaders, however, also note that because VOCs are so
ubiquitous in products and in our homes, it is possible that some of the
VOCs detected in participants' bodies came from multiple sources. They
are calling for further biomonitoring testing of people living or
working near oil and gas sites to better understand how these chemicals
travel through the environment and to prevent our exposure to them.
"If your drinking water is contaminated with toxic chemicals you might
be able to make do with another source, but if your air is toxic you
can't choose to breathe somewhere else," Deb Thomas, the director of
ShaleTest and one the study leaders, said in a statement.
Addendum: In related news, last week, Earthworks, FracTracker Alliance
and Clean Air Task Force released OilAndGasThreatMap.com, a new tool
that maps the locations of the 92,759 active oil and gas wells,
compressors and processors operating in California, and the populations,
schools and hospitals within a half mile radius of those facilities.
Based on peer-reviewed science and publicly-available data, map shows
that 1.3 million Californians live within half-a-mile of an active oil
and gas facility. These areas also include 365 schools and 74 medical
facilities.
The Threat Map allows anyone to search their address to find if they
live within the half-mile threat radius.
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