Fracking Chemicals can cause Endocrine Disruption
There is mounting data to suggest that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can have adverse affects on the environment. A new study, however, suggests that populations living close to fracking sites also have a higher incidence of health complications.
Researchers at the University of Missouri studied data to determine whether residential populations living near what they called “unconventional oil and gas operations,” or UOGs, were at a higher risk for endocrine-disruption from exposure to fracking chemicals. The scientists examined case studies and peer-reviewed publications and concluded that each of the chemicals needed a more intensive case-by-case study when used near human populations.
“We recommend a process to examine the total endocrine disrupting activity from exposure to the mixtures of chemicals used in and resulting from these operations in addition to examining the effects of each chemical on its own,” said Susan C. Nagel and Christopher D. Kassotis. Nagel, a professor in obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health, and Kassotis, a doctoral student in the division of biological sciences, worked with colleagues from across the country to determine the impact of the chemicals — which have largely not been studied for their impact on the human endocrine system.
“More than 700 chemicals are used in the fracking process, and many of them disturb hormone function,” Nagel said. Their studies were directed at understanding the human impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, that were released as a result of chemical spills
Source:
Environmental News Network. http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/48992
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