Fracking chemicals and kids' brains don’t mix: Study
WildEarth Guardians

Fracking chemicals and kids' brains don’t mix: Study

New report highlights the dangers for children living near fracked oil and gas sites.


Multiple pollutants found in the air and water near fracked oil and gas sites are linked to brain problems in children, according to a science review published today.

Researchers focused on five types of pollution commonly found near the sites—heavy metals, particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrobcarbons, BTEX and endocrine disrupting compounds—and scrutinized existing health studies of the compounds' impacts to kids' brains.

"Early life exposure to these air and water pollutants has been shown to be associated with learning and neuropsychological deficits, neurodevelopmental disorders, and neurological birth defects, with potentially permanent consequences to brain health," the authors wrote.

What they didn't find is as important as what they did find: while more than 1,000 studies have looked at health hazards from unconventional oil and gas drilling, none have focused specifically on the brain health of children near the sites.

"Many of us looking are looking at what's happening now and then we're going to revisit this to see what these exposures are doing to people," said Madelon Finkel, a professor of clinical healthcare policy and research at Weill Cornell Medical College who was not involved in the study.

"Unfortunately, we are just waiting to see what happens, it's really sad," she added.

Lead author of the new study, Ellen Webb of the Center for Environmental Health, said the research on children's health near oil and gas sites is "slowly emerging" but that "it's only reasonable to conclude that young children with frequent exposure to these pollutants would be at high risk for neurological diseases."

Since the mid-2000s, as extraction techniques such as fracking became more widespread and refined, oil and gas drilling has taken off. The FracTracker Alliance—a renewable energy advocate organization that studies and maps oil and gas development — estimates there are about 1.7 million active oil and gas wells.

Webb and colleagues said regulators should increase setback distances between oil and gas development and places where children live or play. They recommend at least a mile "between drilling facility lines and the property line of occupied dwellings such as schools, hospitals and other spaces where infants and children might spend a substantial amount of time."

They also recommend more research on low level, chronic exposure, mandatory testing of industrial chemicals used on site, and increased transparency of the chemicals used in drilling. "We don't even know all of the chemicals used in the [fracking] mixtures," Finkel said.

To really protect the health of families "state and federal authorities need to adopt precautionary principles," Webb said.

Seth Whitehead, a spokesman for Energy in Depth, a research, education and public outreach campaign launched by the Independent Petroleum Association of America, said Webb's study is just the latest "deliberate media strategy to draw ties between fracking and health issues even when no hard evidence exists."

"The report merely identifies chemicals associated with oil and gas development, notes that some of these chemicals can be harmful to human health, and states that 'more research is needed to understand the extent of these concerns,'" Whitehead said in an emailed response.

"This is not unlike saying bleach — which can be found in most folks' laundry rooms — can make you sick if you drink it and that more research is needed to understand the extent to which people get sick from drinking bleach from their laundry rooms," he added.

Finkel disagreed: "Of course the study premise is logical. Exposure to some of these toxic chemicals is bound to have an effect."

Finkel sees little hope in the Trump Administration's willingness to take health concerns into account when it comes to energy development. Their energy regulation rollbacks have been "shortsighted and go against all the health evidence that we know," she said.

See the full study published today in the Reviews on Environmental Health journal.

Red buoy being set up with scientific measurement equipment.
Credit: NOAA/Unsplash

Trump’s cuts to climate research are derailing science and endangering long-term monitoring

The Trump administration’s decision to halt climate science funding and dismantle research infrastructure has already begun to upend major projects, forcing scientists to abandon long-term studies and scaling back the U.S. role in international climate assessments.

Scott Dance reports for The Washington Post.

Keep reading...Show less
The interior of the Sacramento capitol building photographed from above looking down on desks and chairs.

California Democrats scale back climate goals amid cost-of-living backlash

Faced with political fallout from the 2024 election and rising affordability concerns, California Democrats are retreating from some of the state’s most ambitious climate policies.

Jeremy B. White and Camille von Kaenel report for POLITICO.

Keep reading...Show less
A petrochemical plant under a sunset.

Trump EPA move could allow chemical plants to bypass pollution limits, increasing cancer risk

A recent analysis warns that potential exemptions to air pollution rules under the Trump administration may protect chronic polluters and expose millions to higher cancer risks.

Shelby Jouppi reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
Female driver holding napkin or tissue to forehead on a hot day.

New poll shows Americans bracing for more dangerous weather events

More than half of Americans believe extreme weather is growing worse, and nearly a third fear they’ll be directly affected, according to a new national poll.

Susan Page reports for USA TODAY.

Keep reading...Show less
A person holds a sign that reads "scientists for future."

Scientists produce anti-autocracy handbook to protect their work and defend democracy

A group of global researchers has created a new guide to help scientists — and anyone who defends facts — push back against rising authoritarian threats in the U.S. and abroad.

Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
green trees beside river under cloudy sky during daytime.

Vermont climate goals face setbacks as federal support disappears

Vermont’s updated Climate Action Plan outlines major steps to cut carbon emissions, but faces steep financial and political barriers as federal climate funding disappears under the Trump administration.

Austyn Gaffney reports for VTDigger.

Keep reading...Show less
A person charging an electric vehicle.

States ramp up electric vehicle incentives as Trump revokes California emissions authority

Seventeen states are scrambling to preserve their clean vehicle goals after the Trump administration rescinded California’s power to set stricter tailpipe emissions rules.

Rambo Talabong reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.