An increasing number of households in energy boom states can say they live right next door to fracking.
Families are worrying about their health, and they’re complaining to public officials. States are looking into these concerns in very different ways.
News recently broke in Pennsylvania that public health officials there have been told not to return calls with health complaints about oil and gas.
Inside Energy Reporter Dan Boyce looks at the range of public health response in the West.
Eric Ewing lives near Gilcrest, in Weld County Colorado, with his wife and two young kids.
An area now surrounded by drilling activity.
EWING: “So, I went outside, and I could start smelling this stuff and I could feel it,
Some days, when the wind is down, the air just gets kind of socked in.
EWING: “...it made me nauseous, we experienced sore throats, dizziness, my daughter has a rash that comes and goes.”
Colorado officials pride themselves on how the state records and responds to health concerns due to oil and gas development.
Matt LePore heads the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which is the primary regulator of the industry in the state.
LEPORE: “We have a 24 hour response goal on all complaints.”
Complaints are posted to a public website with a database that tracks well inspections, spills, remediation as well as what comes in from the public.
LEPORE: “We do not get very many complaints that you would categorize specifically as a health complaint, it’s usually potential health associated with some other kind of complaint.”
Over half of the total complaints about oil and gas concern groundwater, excessive noise, and air quality.
That’s Colorado. As for the other energy states in the region, North Dakota has been tracking these concerns, as well--starting about six months ago anyway. They aren’t readily available to the public, but Inside Energy asked for the data and about 25 oil and gas related health complaints have come in so far.
Wyoming, on the other hand, doesn’t track any of this stuff yet.
MURPHY: “We do not have an active surveillance system for environmental health complaints.”
Dr. Tracy Murphy is Wyoming’s state epidemiologist.
But, even though Colorado is comprehensively tracking these complaints,
EWING: “It’s very confusing for the average Joe.”
Our concerned dad Eric Ewing, he says the issue is knowing where to complain.
Some problems, you call the oil and gas commission.
EWING: “Or, if it’s that issue, you gotta call the department of health.”
For others, you call County planning.
EWING: “I’m sitting there a little confused, going maybe I should just call the Sheriff!”
Since figuring things out Ewing has logged a number of complaints.
He’s been generally satisfied with Colorado’s response.
EWING: “My impression is that they’re working very hard, and they’re working very long hours to try to address some of these issues.”
But there is still a lot that’s unknown about these health impacts.
Lisa McKenzie is with the Colorado School of Public Health.
MCKENZIE: “I’ve been researching the health effects of oil and gas development in human populations for the past four years.”
She says the problems the Ewing family has are common.
MCKENZIE: “Headaches, skin rashes, nose bleeds…”
Some of her preliminary research may show a connection between exposure to oil and gas emissions and higher cancer risks for children. Or a connection with higher rates of congenital heart defects.
But these studies are still early in the process, still limited. What she’s missing is baseline data.
MCKENZIE: “What was the air quality like before, what was the water like before, and what was the health of the population before.”
She also says studies are needed which follow and track populations of people and study their health changes over time.
Two eastern states, Maryland and New York are both funding public health impact studies.
And in Colorado, there are two ongoing large-scale air quality studies going on. They are funded by the state from money generated through oil and gas revenues--those are ongoing.
The state also monitors cancer rates and birth defects ---- so far, no link has been found connecting those rates with oil and gas development.
In the meantime, Eric Ewing took his family to their primary doctor. They’ve now been referred to a toxicologist.
A woman from the Colorado health department did visit his home once. He says she mentioned something about wishing she could wear a respirator when she came out to Weld Country, because of her own worries about the emissions.
EWING: “And so I’m standing there, I’ve got a three year old and a five year old and my wife inside and I’m like what am I supposed to do? Just leave?”
But for the millions of people in the US who live near oil and gas development, moving isn’t always an option.
