Study: ‘Fracking’ may increase air pollution health risks
By: Neela Banerjee
This is a well that is leaking out fumes. When an area has a
lot of fracking going on, the amount of fumes being put into the air can be
very dangerous to some ones health.
Article: In a new
study by the Colorado school of Public Health, people who live near natural
gases drilling site are likely to have chronic health problems. The Colorado
School monitored sites in Colorado for three years and found multiple “potentially
toxic petroleum hydrocarbons in the air near the wells including benzene,
ethylbenzene, toluene and xylene.” The EPA collected data from Garfield County in
Colorado which has undergone a sharp increase of drilling from January 2008 to November
2010. The data from the study showed that people who are exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons
(from the drilling) for a prolong periods of time are at an increase risk of
headaches and irritations of the eyes, acute childhood and myelongenous leukemia,
asthma symptoms, and multiple myeloma. The EPA is trying to finalize the air pollution
problem at oil and drilling sites by seeing tighter regulation of fracking.
Opinion: This
article was very interesting and I think it is awful that people are being affected
by fracking. I remember watching a video in class about people becoming sick
from drilling sites near their homes. Though those people became sick through
their drinking water, the drill sites stills affected their lives. This is a
big problem for not only people but the environment too. When animals start to
take in the polluted air, they also become sick and possibly die. I am glad to
hear that the EPA is starting to make rules for the drilling companies. It’s good to know that they are doing
something to help the plant and its creatures. This connects to my life because
if one day I live in an area with a natural gas drill, I want be healthy and
not become sick. Plus I want my future environments to be as healthy as
possible. Drilling not only effects the life of others and animals but the
country as a whole.
Questions:
11)
What other ways can we as a country do to fix
this air pollution problem?
22)
How are the drilling companies fixing this
problem?
33)
Is there a cleaner way to drill for natural gas?
OPINION
ReplyDeleteThis article is really sad to think about, because my main question after reading this was; where is our environment going? I feel that processes like drilling for natural gas is a big issue, but is possible to be controlled if the whole society stepped in. Ever since we learned about the impacts of fossil fuels in class, it has really gotten to me that the way people are operating right now to obtain money and energy is definitely going down the wrong way. This article connects to how we learned that hydraulic fracturing is a very controversial topic, and that even though natural gas is the cleanest of all the fossil fuels, it still is pollution. I agree with Jenna that not only us humans, the animals are getting harmed to. The fact that toxic hydrocarbons in the air are causing health problems like headaches and asthma is really frightening. I am someone who has asthma and it scares me into thinking that if I were to go near a natural gas drilling site, my asthma would get worse and I would have to suffer. I can only imagine how the people living near these sites feel, and the risks they take everyday to go outside and breathe in the polluted air. I am glad that the EPA is starting to work on this issue with more enforcement, however I feel there needs to be more done about this. I really hope that people will start to understand what air pollution can potentially do to a human being and switch to alternative energy sources.
EXPANSION
http://truth-out.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7349:frackings-health-and-environmental-impacts-greater-than-claimed
This link above is an article that deals with the impacts of fracking. It ranges from talking about how fracking is defended by natural gas companies, to all the severe health problems that can be caused by it. It also provides information on the chemicals that are released and the impact of them on humans. This article also talks about how methane is released and how it can be highly dangerous. Overall, this link talks about many aspects of fracking and all the impacts and health problems that are related with it.
Opinion: This article is very interesting. We talked about fracking in class and is a very controversial topic. This article makes me wonder how far we will go to gain fossil fuels. If we are risking people's health while fracking, why are we still doing it? We need to start using more alternative energy sources instead of fossil fuels because we are running out of them and retreiving them in dangerous ways, like fracking. Natural gas is the fossil fuel that is being collected by fracking. We can stop fracking by using an alternative energy source instead of the fossil fuel of natural gas. If fracking is causing health problems and air pollution, it definitely needs to be stopped. This connects to the movie we watched in class called, Gaslands. This is a documentary about the results amd health risks of fracking. The author of this documentary interviews citizens of a town, where fracking is happening. Most of these citizens are starting to have health problems. They all have about the same problems, which means that the health problems are due to hydrocarbons in the air from fracking. Fracking could help us gain natural gas, but is it worth risking lives?
ReplyDeleteExpansion: This is the movie preview to Gaslands. This movie was very interesting. My favorite part is when they light water, that is coming out of a kitchen sink, on fire. Families should be able to use the water coming out of their sink and water should never be flamable. The reason the water catches on fire is because of the chemicals that are released through fracking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe1AeH0Qz8
Opinion: I found this article interesting, but upsetting at the same time. It is unfair to the people living near these natural gas drilling sites, especially since they usually have no control over where the drilling occurs. Seeing all the side affects of hydraulic fracturing, it seems like it is not worth the danger the people are put through, who are in close contact with the area. In our class, we talked a lot about fracking and the side effects that are commonly associated with them, and how much damage it is doing to our earth and environment. I think it is good that the EPA is trying to do something about it, especially since there are not tight regulations on fracking. However, I think we should start using alternative, renewable resources. Not only is our time with fossil fuels running out, but the damage that coal, oil, and natural gas brings us is causing major destruction to our earth.
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
1. Even if tighter regulations were in place, wouldn’t the environmental and health issues/impacts associated with fracking still be present? Why can’t environmental associations, such as the EPA, stop fracking?
2. When chemicals are released into the air, do they come from the actual fracking process, or the natural gas being released? If it is from the fracking process, is it possible for something to be built to trap the toxins? If it’s the natural gas, is it possible for it be purified before it is released into the surrounding area?
3. Other than profit, do drilling companies have any other incentives that want them to continue drilling? Why do they disregard the health and environmental issues they are creating?
Opinion: This article was very sad and depressing to read. I knew that the fracking was a hazard to people and the environment, but I had no idea it was this bad. We learned in class about how the water that was used to get the gas up gets released into the environment, but this article was very eye-opening. Many homes are very near the fracking sites, and that is a deadly combination. The chemicals and contaminated water used for fracking can seep into the ground and can show up in the family’s wells that they use. What really surprised me was the length away that homes could be built away from the fracking sites. I thought that homes should be like 500 feet away from the fracking sites but I was wrong. Homes can be built as close as 150 feet away in Colorado, and I can only imagine that other states have the same rules, or close to it. The air pollution around the fracking sites is much greater than the areas that are farther away from the fracking sites. This was not that surprising to me, because the chemicals that are used for fracking are highly toxic. I think that fracking should be able to be done as long as we find ways to keep the chemicals from seeping into the ground and hurting the family’s that live around the fracking sites. It is not their fault that these big companies are coming in and destroying their home land.
ReplyDeleteExpansion: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/21/nation/la-na-adv-fracking-doctors-20120422
This is an article that talks about how doctors in PA are worried about fracking, and what it is doing to their patients. That fact that doctors are starting to worry, worries me even more, because they know what these chemicals can do to our body. Some doctors think that fracking should be stopped all together because of the health risks involved with fracking.