Oil & Gas News

Health & Safety

“Air and water quality issues are so ubiquitous in areas invaded by the [oil & gas] industry that summarizing is difficult. Most astonishing, however, is that neither Colorado nor the U.S. has undertaken a systematic examination of the thousands of citizen complaints. With regards to air quality, these complaints run from skin rashes, to open sores, to nose bleeds, to stomach cramps, to loss of smell, to swollen and itching eyes, to despondency and depression, even death.”  Phillip Doe (article)

From the same article, the Colorado School of Public Health (CSPH) conducted a study.  “Among the findings were high levels of benzene, a known carcinogen, at and near well sites. In fact, the assessment states that even at distances of 2,700 feet from a well site, toxic chemicals were still detectable at levels that would increase the chance of developing cancer by 66 percent based on published health standards.” 

And a “study headed by a professor of molecular medicine, Robert Oswald, and veterinarian Michelle Bamberger found significant health links between fracking and livestock exposed to fracking’s air and water byproducts. These animals suffered neurological, reproductive and gastrointestinal disabilities.”

Fracking has been linked to low birth weight and illness in newborns (article).

Oil & Gas Exposure Symptoms:  chronic cough, nosebleeds, stomach cramps, rashes, headaches, eye problems.

Hydrogen sulfide (h2s) is a colourless, flammable, extremely hazardous gas with a rotten egg smell that can kill.  Some common names for the gas include sewer gas, stink damp, swamp gas and manure gas. It occurs naturally in crude petroleum, natural gas, and hot springs. (article)

Oil & Gas News – Health & Safety

Date yyyy-mm-dd	Posted By	Article Link	Comment
2020-01-30	New Orleans Advocate	Louisiana, Alaska fishers sue EPA over health problems from dispersant in oil spill cleanup	Sara Sneath AO News – Spills & Explosions
2019-12-28	KCBD.com (USA)	Gas company employee, wife die after Hydrogen Sulfide gas poisoning	Amber Stegall
2019-07-22	EcoWatch / Common Dreams	Babies Born Near Oil and Gas Wells Are 40 to 70% More Likely to Have Congenital Heart Defects, New Study Shows	Julia Conley
2019-06-29	Taylor & Francis Online	Study: Evaluating Potential Human Health Risks from Modeled Inhalation Exposures to Volatile Organic Compounds Emitted from Oil and Gas Operations	Holder, Hader, Avanasi, Hong, Carr, Mendez, Wignall, Glen, Guelden, Wei
2019-06-20	EcoWatch / Common Dreams	Total Ban on Fracking Urged by Health Experts: 1,500 Studies Showed 'Damning' Evidence of Threats to Public Health, Climate	Jake Johnson
2019-06-04	NPR.org	$3 Million Settlement Revealed In High-Profile Fracking Case	Reid Frazier
2019-02-11	PublicHerald.org	Investigation: Clorox Selling Pool Salt Made From Fracking Wastewater	Joshua B. Pribanic, Melissa A. Troutman
2018-05-31	Macleans.ca	Are ‘man camps’ that house pipeline construction workers a menace to Indigenous women?	Jason Markusoff
2018-05-16	Columbus Free Press (USA)	Don't be fooled - don't buy bottled radioactive waste!	Terry Lodge - Aqua Salina - NORM / TENORM
2017-12-21	National Observer	Online "Book": Screams from the yard	Elizabeth McSheffrey, Mike De Souza, Robert Cribb, Patti Sonntag, P.W. Elliott
2017-12-21	National Observer	Toxic gas nearly killed this oil worker. His employer never told the province	Robert Cribb - sour gas - hydrogen sulphide (H2S)
2017-12-13	Princeton University	Hydraulic fracturing negatively impacts infant health	B. Rose Kelly
2017-11-14	Montreal Gazette	Study: Benzene byproducts found in pregnant women near fracking sites	Charlie Fidelman
2017-06-29	CochraneEagle.com	Anti-fracking group looking for public awareness	Lindsay Seewalt
2017-01-24	CBC News	Alberta research shows fracking fluids cause 'significant' harm to fish	Bob Weber
2016-10-31	EcoWatch / Lorraine Chow	Doctors Orders: Stop Fracking Pennsylvania	Lorraine Chow
2016-10-26	EcoWatch / Lorraine Chow	Fracking Linked to Cancer-Causing Chemicals, Yale Study Finds	Lorraine Chow
2016-08-25	EcoWatch / Wenonah Hauter	Health Dangers of Fracking Revealed in Johns Hopkins Study	Wenonah Hauter
2016-07-19	EcoWatch / Lorraine Chow	Study Links Fracking to Asthma Attacks	Lorraine Chow
2016-02-04	National Observer	Scientists trace cancer-linked pollutant to oil sands stockpiles	Mike De Souza
2015-11-15	BerkshireEagel.com (USA)	Doctors urge Windsor residents keep opposing Kinder Morgan pipeline, compressor station	Dick Lindsay - Massachusetts, USA
2015-10-17	Ring of Fire Radio	Fracking Causing Men to Have Big Balls But Low Sperm	Joshua De Leon
2015-10-09	Global News	Fracking associated with high risk pregnancies and premature babies: study	Allison Vuchnich
2015-07-15	Newsweek.com	Living Near Fracking Wells Linked to Increased Hospitalization Rates	Zoe Schlanger
2015-04-22	CBC	Rapidly growing oil industry causing health concerns in southeast Sask.	Saskatchewan
2015-04-09	Washington Post	Rise of deadly radon gas in Pennsylvania buildings linked to fracking industry	Ariana Eunjung Cha
2015-04-07	CBC News	Fracking criticism spreads, even in Alberta and Texas	Michelle Leslie
2015-03-23	Newsweek	Utah Confirms Spike in Infant Deaths in Oil and Gas Boomtown After Midwife Sounds Alarm	Zoe Schlanger
2014-12-17	PennLive.com	Fracking brought spikes in crime, road deaths and STDs to Pa.: report	Wallace McKelvey
2014-12-11	Timesunion.com	Offering a case against fracking	Brian Nearing
2014-12-08	EcoWatch / Anastasia Pantsios	Fracking Linked to Miscarriages, Birth Defects and Infertility
2014-10-02	Ring of Fire Radio	BP Lied To Its Sickened Cleanup Workers	Joshua De Leon
2014-08-22	EcoWatch / Anastasia Pantsios	Satellite Map Shows Fracking Flares in Texas and North Dakota Equal to Greenhouse Emissions From 1.5 Million Cars	Anastasia Pantsios
2014-08-19	EcoWatch / Climate News Network	Study Finds 8 Fracking Chemicals Toxic to Humans	Tim Radford
2014-07-28	PriceOfOil.org	Subsidy Spotlight: Paid to Pollute and Poison	Paul Thacker,  Oil Change Int’l
2014-07-10	Concerned Health Professionals of NY	Health Compendium
2014-07-03	EcoWatch / Brandon Baker	How a Fracking Company Tried to Buy Pennsylvania Residents’ Approval For $50,000	Brandon Baker
2014-06-19	Globe and Mail	Air pollution linked to cognitive decline	Shereen Lehman
2014-06-11	Center for Environmental Health	Podcast:  A Fracking Mess! (1hr 23mins)	Helen Slottje, Anthony Ingraffea, Ansje Miller, Mark Jacobson
2014-05-26	Earth First Journal	Sexual Assault in the Bakken Shale “Man Camps”	Damon Buckley
2014-05-21	Newsweek	In Utah Boom Town, a Spike in Infant Deaths Raises Questions	Zoë Schlanger
2014-05-19	Mother Jones (USA)	North Carolina GOP Pushes Unprecedented Bill to Jail Anyone Who Discloses Fracking Chemicals	Molly Redden
2014-04-25	Courhouse News Service (USA)	Families Sue Frackers for $120 Million
2014-04-23	EcoWatch / Brandon Baker (USA)	Texas Family Awarded $3 Million in Nation’s First Fracking Trial	Brandon Baker
2014-03-31	Global News	Alberta inquiry finds oil odours may be making people sick	Leslie Young
2014-02-27	Vancouver Observer	Alberta doctor tells U.S.: Canada is ‘lying’ about tar sands’ health effects	Mychaylo Prystupa
2014-01-30	EcoNews / Tweet	New Study Shows Proximity to Fracking Sites Increases Risk of Birth Defects	Brandon Baker
2014-01-21	EcoWatch / Oil Change International	Alberta Doctors Reluctant to Treat Patients Who Draw Connection Between Tar Sands and Health	Andy Rowell
2014-01-06	EcoWatch / Oil Change International	Research Links Proximity to Fracking and Low Birth Weight in Newborns	Andy Rowell
2013-10-26	Youtube / JosephAnonymous1	Anonymous Youngstown – Health Risks of Fracking (4mins)	Anonymous
2013-10-03	EcoWatch / Environment America	Groundbreaking Report Calculates Damage Done by Fracking	(report .pdf)
2013-09-04	Treehugger	Flaring event at Port Arthur, Texas	Chris Tackett
2013-08-08	Fracking West Virginia	Blog:  Livestock Becoming Sick in Fracking Regions Raising Concerns About Food	Elizabeth Royte
2013-05-19	Youtube / Vera Scroggins	Silica Dust Pouring Out of Cabot Frack Site (4mins)	Vera Scroggins
2013-05-08	Inside Climate News	Arkansas Residents Sick From Exxon Oil Spill Are on Their Own	Mayflower, Arkansas
2012-12-03	AllGov	Is Fracking Contaminating U.S. Livestock?
2010-06-30	BusinessInsider.com	Warning To Gulf Volunteers: Almost Every Cleanup Worker From The 1989 Exxon Valdez Disaster Is Now Dead	Michael Snyder

Health & Safety Links – Other

Workers in the gas industry whose health has been affected – www.facebook.com/GasVets

Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Water and Air:  List of the Harmed 

“While the court appreciates the Longmont citizens’ sincerely held beliefs about risks to their health and safety, the court does not find this is sufficient to completely devalue the state’s interest, thereby making the matter one of purely local interest.”  Judge D.D. Mallard, Boulder County District Court, USA (source1, source2)

Return to AWARE-Ontario Oil & Gas News

Return to AWARE-Ontario.ca Home Page

List of Ontario’s Issues

What Can I Do?

Disclaimer: This information has been compiled through private amateur research for the purpose of allowing the reader to make an informed and educated decision.  However, while the information is believed to be reliable, accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

APPENDICES

https://awareontario.nfshost.com/AWARE-Ontario/Issues/Oilgas_Other/News%20Oil_Gas%20Health.htm