19
Dec
New York State Bans Fracking
(Beyond Pesticides, December 19, 2014) Citing concerns over health risks, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and his administration announced Wednesday that it would ban hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking,” in New York state, thus becoming the first state with significant natural-gas resources to ban the practice. Fracking is a method of extracting natural gas from deep in the ground by injecting a mixture of water, sand, and toxic chemicals ””including biocides to control biological activity”” under high pressure into dense rock formations, such as shale, in order to crack the rock and release the gas.
The announcement to ban fracking came alongside a long-awaited health study. The study, made public during a year-end cabinet meeting convened by the governor in Albany, found “significant public health risks” associated with fracking.
The study also considers the effects of biocide use in the fracking process, such as reduced microbial diversity and enhanced tolerance from chemicals like glutaraldehyde, a strong irritant.
Hydraulic fracking operations use biocides because microbes, which are present beneath the surface of the earth, can interfere with the flow of gas in the pipelines. Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., an ecologist and author, explained the possible role of these microbes and the use of biocides to the participants of the 30th National Pesticide Forum, and in the Huffington Post: “Living organisms also interfere with the flow of gas through pipelines. To prevent this biofouling, gas companies send powerful biocides into the shale, killing everything that inhabits it. The use of biocides, among other factors, makes fracking a highly toxic form of energy extraction.” Theo Colburn, Ph.D., founder of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX), has also called attention to the health effects of chemicals used in the drilling, fracturing, recovery and delivery of natural gas.
Biocides, as well as hundreds of others products, used in the production of natural gas are often hidden from public scrutiny, making it difficult to thoroughly examine the full extent of potential public health and environmental impacts.
Major findings from the health study include air pollution from uncontrolled methane leakage, emissions of other volatile organic chemicals, and particulate matter; water-quality impacts from underground migration of methane, which has the potential to impact private drinking water wells, as well as from surface spills and radioactive waste disposal; seismic activity; and community impacts from interference with quality-of-life and overburdened transportation and health infrastructure. Health effects include association between birth outcomes (low birth weight and some congenital defects) and residential proximity of the mother to well pads during pregnancy, as well as congenital heart and neural tube defects, skin rash, irritation, nausea or vomiting, abdominal pain, breathing difficulties or cough, nosebleeds, and more in people and farm animals near fracking sites.
Howard A. Zucker, M.D., the acting New York State health commissioner, said there was insufficient scientific evidence to affirm the safety of fracking. He said his review boiled down to a simple question: Would he want his family living in a community where fracking was taking place?
He didn’t mince words; his answer was no.
“We cannot afford to make a mistake,” he said. “The potential risks are too great. In fact, they are not even fully known.”
Preceding the state ban, dozens of communities throughout the state have passed moratoriums and bans on fracking. In June, the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, ruled that towns could use zoning ordinances to ban fracking. Local bans, on top of state-planned restrictions, put 63 percent of the Marcellus Shale off limits to drilling, according to Joseph Martens, the state environmental conservation commissioner.
“The economic benefits are clearly far lower than originally forecast,” he said.
New York is not the first state to ban fracking. Vermont banned the practice in 2012, but the move was more symbolic in nature since the state does not actually possess a commercially viable source of natural gas. On a more local level, communities have taken the initiative across the country, banning fracking in cities throughout California, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Source: New York Times
Photo Source: nyagainstfracking.org
All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.
Thank you for this interesting article. In South Africa the planning of fracking in the Karoo with its scarce water , fracking is a great concern to all the farmers.
December 23rd, 2014 at 3:18 am