Author: CHPNY

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Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing

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Abstract Directional drilling and hydraulic-fracturing technologies are dramatically increasing natural-gas extraction. In aquifers overlying the Marcellus and Utica shale formations of northeastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York, we document systematic evidence for methane contamination of drinking water associated with shale-gas extraction. In active gas-extraction areas (one or more gas wells within 1 km), average and […]

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Reducing the staggering costs of environmental disease in children, estimated at $76.6 billion in 2008

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Abstract A 2002 analysis documented $54.9 billion in annual costs of environmentally mediated diseases in US children. However, few important changes in federal policy have been implemented to prevent exposures to toxic chemicals. We therefore updated and expanded the previous analysis and found that the costs of lead poisoning, prenatal methylmercury exposure, childhood cancer, asthma, […]

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Air pollution around schools is linked to poorer student health and academic performance

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Abstract Exposing children to environmental pollutants during important times of physiological development can lead to long-lasting health problems, dysfunction, and disease. The location of children’s schools can increase their exposure. We examined the extent of air pollution from industrial sources around public schools in Michigan to find out whether air pollution jeopardizes children’s health and […]

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The rush to drill for natural gas: a public health cautionary tale

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Abstract Efforts to identify alternative sources of energy have focused on extracting natural gas from vast shale deposits. The Marcellus Shale, located in western New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, is estimated to contain enough natural gas to supply the United States for the next 45 years. New drilling technology-horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing of […]

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Maternal exposure to ambient levels of benzene and neural tube defects among offspring: Texas, 1999-2004

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Abstract BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported positive associations between maternal exposure to air pollutants and several adverse birth outcomes. However, there have been no studies assessing the association between environmental levels of hazardous air pollutants, such as benzene, and neural tube defects (NTDs), a common and serious group of congenital malformations. OBJECTIVE: Our goal was […]

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A framework for examining social stress and susceptibility to air pollution in respiratory health

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Abstract OBJECTIVE: There is growing interest in disentangling the health effects of spatially clustered social and physical environmental exposures and in exploring potential synergies among them, with particular attention directed to the combined effects of psychosocial stress and air pollution. Both exposures may be elevated in lower-income urban communities, and it has been hypothesized that […]

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Radiological Impact on Man and the Environment from the Oil and Gas Industry: Risk Assessment for the Critical Group

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Abstract Radiation exposure of workers in the oil-gas industry can occur by inhalation of high-levels of radon gas; increased gamma dose rates; increased gamma dose rate due to 226Ra, 210Pb, 228Ra, and 228Th. The waste also has elevated contents of long-lived radionuclides. Finally, the recycling of waste originating within the oil-gas industry can pose a […]

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