The following summarizes research on health harms from gas production and fracking. Different studies abbreviate this as UGD, UNGOD, GOD, etc, but they all refer to fracking. Each study is prefaced with a sentence or two from the summary or conclusion of the study, along with link to the study at the end.

Health Harms – pregnant mothers and infants

Premature birth, low weight, and poor health births

• “In this population-based cohort study including all reproductive-aged individuals who had a pregnancy in rural Alberta, Canada, from 2013 to 2018, those individuals living within 10 km of 100 or more hydraulically fractured wells during 1 year preconception or pregnancy had a significantly increased risk of spontaneous preterm birth and small for gestational age birth. Living in proximity to a high density of hydraulic fracturing sites was associated with adverse birth outcomes.”

Zoe F. Cairncross et al., “Association Between Residential Proximity to Hydraulic Fracturing Sites and Adverse Birth Outcomes,” JAMA Pediatrics, April 4, 2022

• “The results clearly document that there is a unidirectional relationship between fracking activities and three alternative indexes of infants’ health at birth, as well as a significant impact of fracking on infants’ health indicators. In addition, the results illustrate the substantial role of fracking through the drinking water quality channel.”

Nicholas Apergis, Tasawar Hayat, and Tareq Saeed, “Fracking and Infant Mortality: Fresh Evidence from Oklahoma,” Environmental Science and Pollution Research 26, no. 31 (November 2019): 32360–67

• “We find consistent and robust evidence that drilling shale gas wells negatively impacts both drinking water quality and infant health.”

Elaine L. Hill and Lala Ma, “Drinking Water, Fracking, and Infant Health,” Journal of Health Economics, 2022, 102595

• “We found evidence that exposure to oil and gas well sites in the first and second trimesters is associated with increased odds of spontaneous preterm birth at 20–31 weeks.”

David J. X. Gonzalez et al., “Oil and Gas Production and Spontaneous Preterm Birth in the San Joaquin Valley, CA: A Case–Control Study,” Environmental Epidemiology 4, no. 4 (August 2020): e099

• “Proximity to higher production OGD in California was associated with adverse birth outcomes among mothers residing in rural areas.”

Kathy V. Tran et al., “Residential Proximity to Oil and Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in California: A Retrospective Cohort Study of 2006–2015 Births,” Environmental Health Perspectives 128, no. 6 (June 2020): 067001

Birth Defects

• “Congenital heart defect prevalence is highest in rural areas with oil and gas activity. Higher pulmonary artery and valve defect, aortic artery and valve defect, conotruncal defect, and tricuspid valve defect in rural oil and gas activity area.”

Lisa M. McKenzie, William Allshouse, and Stephen Daniels, “Congenital Heart Defects and Intensity of Oil and Gas Well Site Activities in Early Pregnancy,” Environment International 132 (November 2019): 104949

• “We observed an increase in risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs) among infants whose mothers lived in areas with higher UNGD well densities in Texas.”

Ian W. Tang, Peter H. Langlois, and Ver.nica M. Vieira, “Birth Defects and Unconventional Natural Gas Developments in Texas, 1999–2011,” Environmental Research 194 (2021): 110511

• “Higher odds of neural tube defects, limb reduction defects and spina bifida in infants born near oil and gas development.”

Casey Gaughan et al., “Residential Proximity to Unconventional Oil and Gas Development and Birth Defects in Ohio,” Environmental Research, April 2023, 115937

Hypertension

• “Living within 1 km of an oil or gas extraction site during pregnancy is associated with increased odds of hypertensive conditions during pregnancy.”

Mary D Willis et al., “Associations between Residential Proximity to Oil and Gas Extraction and Hypertensive Conditions during Pregnancy: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis in Texas, 1996–2009,” International Journal of Epidemiology, 2021, dyab246

 

Health Harms – Children

Asthma

• “We find that air pollution in 2016 from the oil and gas sector in the US resulted in 410 000 asthma exacerbations, 2200 new cases of childhood asthma and 7500 excess deaths, with $77 billion in total health impacts.”

Jonathan J Buonocore et al., “Air Pollution and Health Impacts of Oil & Gas Production in the United States”, Environmental Research: Health 1, no. 2 (June 1, 2023): 021006

Leukaemia

• “In this population-based case–control study of unconventional natural gas development (UGOD) in Pennsylvania, we found that children living in proximity to UOGD had up to 2–3 times the odds of developing acute lymphoblastic leukaemia .”

Cassandra J. Clark et al., “Unconventional Oil and Gas Development Exposure and Risk of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Case–Control Study in Pennsylvania, 2009–2017,” Environmental Health Perspectives 130, no. 8 (August 2022): 087001

 

Health Harms for all, especially Seniors

Cardiovascular

• “Three of 4 phases of unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) activity were associated with hospitalization for heart failure (HF) in a large sample of patients with HF in an area of active UNGD. Older patients with HF seem particularly vulnerable to adverse health impacts from UNGD activity.”

Tara P. McAlexander, “Unconventional Natural Gas Development and Hospitalization for Heart Failure in Pennsylvania”,  Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2020 Dec, 76 (24) 2862–2874

Diseases of the genitourinary system

• “Increased hospitalizations for diseases of the genitourinary system, such as urinary tract infections, kidney infections, and kidney stones, were “strongly and positively associated with cumulative [unconventional natural gas] well density in Pennsylvania”.

Denham et al., “Unconventional Natural Gas Development and Hospitalizations: Evidence from Pennsylvania, United States, 2003–2014,” Public Health 168 (2019): 17–25,

All Causes of Mortality

• “We found evidence of a statistically significant higher mortality risk associated with living in proximity to and downwind of unconventional oil and gas wells.”

Longxiang Li et al., “Exposure to Unconventional Oil and Gas Development and All-Cause Mortality in Medicare Beneficiaries,” Nature Energy, 2022

• “The main findings provide strong evidence that UNGD activities have negative effects on human health-related outcomes across all counties in Oklahoma. Specifically, an increase in the number of (unconventional) wells has a positive impact on mortality rates, and incidences of cancer, cardiac, and respiratory diseases in communities in close spatial proximity, and a negative impact on life expectancy.”

Nicholas Apergis, Ghulam Mustafa, and Sayantan Ghosh Dastidar, “An Analysis of the Impact of Unconventional Oil and Gas Activities on Public Health: New Evidence Across Oklahoma Counties,”Energy Economics 97 (2021)

 

Harms from LNG (liquid natural gas)

• “LNG export terminals pose immediate health and safety risks to those living nearby due to the volume of emissions and volatility of the production process.”

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG): Health and Climate Impacts,  Environmental Health Project. Aug 10, 2023

 

Harms from Climate Change

• “Scientific understanding of the links between health and climate change is rapidly growing, over 3000 scientific articles covered this topic in 2022.”

Marina Romanello, Phd. et al, “The 2023 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: the imperative for a health-centred response in a world facing irreversible harms”, The Lancet, November 14, 2023,  DOI

• “Climate change is already impacting health in a myriad of ways, including by leading to death and illness from increasingly frequent extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, storms and floods, the disruption of food systems, increases in zoonoses and food-, water- and vector-borne diseases, and mental health issues. Furthermore, climate change is undermining many of the social determinants for good health, such as livelihoods, equality and access to health care and social support structures.”

World Health Organization

 

Harm from Indoor Usage of Gas

• “The links among gas stove emissions, nitrogen dioxide pollution, and increased risk of illness in children, older adults, people with underlying conditions, and environmental justice communities.”

American Public Health Association, Gas Stove Emissions Are a Public Health Concern: Exposure to Indoor Nitrogen Dioxide Increases Risk of Illness in Children, Older Adults, and People with Underlying Health Conditions,”  Policy Statement, November 8, 2022

• “Gas appliances emit a wide range of air pollutants, such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2)), particulate matter (PM), and formaldehyde, which have been linked to various acute and chronic health effects, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.”

Dr. Yifang Zhu, Effects of Residential Gas Appliances on Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality and Public Health in California, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Department of Environmental Health Sciences