Fracking linked to increased hospitalizations for skin, genital and urinary issues in Pennsylvania
Credit: Pixabay

Fracking linked to increased hospitalizations for skin, genital and urinary issues in Pennsylvania

Rashes, urinary tract infections, and kidney stones requiring hospital stays are more common in areas with more drilling, according to a new study

Fracking may put Pennsylvania communities at greater risk for skin, genital, and urinary diseases, according to new research.


The study, which will be published in the March issue of the journal Public Health, looked at hospital records in Pennsylvania's 67 counties from 2003-2014.

Researchers found that the more fracking wells were in a county, the more hospitalizations the county saw for genital and urinary problems like urinary tract infections, kidney infections, and kidney stones. Fracking, another name for hydraulic fracturing, is a process of extracting oil and gas from the Earth by drilling deep wells and injecting liquid at high pressure.

"It's important point to keep in mind that hospitalizations are for acute illness or serious exacerbations of chronic illness," Alina Denham, a PhD Candidate in Health Services Research and Policy at the University of Rochester and lead author of the study, told EHN. "So if we see strong associations with hospitalizations, it's likely that additional cases of mild symptoms for the same illnesses have been addressed at home or in an outpatient setting, or not addressed at all."

Credit: Pixabay

The researchers observed a similar link between fracking wells and hospitalizations for skin issues like rashes caused by cellulitis and abscesses. But while the link between fracking and genital and urinary issues was clear, the many illnesses that could fall under the category of skin-related issues in hospital diagnosis codes (everything from acne and eczema to diaper rash and ulcers) make the study's findings about skin-related issues less definitive.

However, "we do know from formal complaints to the Pennsylvania Department of Health related to fracking activities that these symptoms exist," Denham, said, noting that about 200 individuals filed formal complaints documenting health impacts they thought could be related to fracking from 2011 to 2014, and 40 percent of those included skin problems.

The researchers compared yearly hospitalization rates for each county with the number of new fracking wells drilled, the total number of wells, and the density of wells by land area for each county by year. Pennsylvania accounted for 19 percent of total U.S. marketed natural gas production and produced more natural gas than any other state except Texas in 2017. A majority of the natural gas produced in the state comes from the Marcellus Shale in the southwestern part of the state.

After correcting for demographic factors like race and income, Denham and her colleagues found that as the number of new wells and the well density in a county increased over time, there was a corresponding increase in hospitalization rates for kidney infections, kidney stones, and urinary tract infections, particularly in women ages 20-64.

"[Genital and urinary] diseases are "not something that comes to mind first when we think of the potential impacts of fracking," Denham said. "We were thinking we'd see respiratory or cardiovascular issues, so our findings were surprising."

The researchers were also surprised to learn that these issues mostly affected adult women, rather than children and the elderly, who are generally more vulnerable to environmental health impacts. In general, women are more susceptible to urinary tract infections than men, which can lead to kidney infections and kidney stones if left untreated.

Credit: Pixabay

Denham added that a number of other studies, including some that looked at outpatient data rather than hospitalization data, have found links between cardiovascular and respiratory issues like asthma and the air pollution caused by fracking.

Living within a few miles of wells likely makes people more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution, and the study notes that aggregating data at the county-level rather than zipcode likely makes those effects difficult to observe.

While the study didn't investigate why this link between hospitalization rates for skin, genital, and urinary illnesses and fracking exists, the researchers have a few theories.

"There's a growing body of literature on associations between drilling activity and risky sexual behaviors, so it's possible that the increase in genitourinary hospitalizations could be related to that rather than directly linked to drilling activity," Elaine Hill, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Rochester and co-author of the study, told EHN.

They've also hypothesized that the disruption to bacteria deep in the Earth that's caused by fracking, or chemical exposures in drinking water could play a role, Hill said, but they haven't found any strong toxicology or clinical literature to back that up. "In terms of skin-related issues," she added, "there's toxicology literature that suggests close to 50 percent of chemicals used in drilling could have a dermatological effect."

More research is needed, Hill said, "but in the meantime, it's important for people who live in these communities to make themselves aware and make their physicians aware that they live near drilling operations so the healthcare system can respond if there is widespread risk."

environmental justice

LISTEN: Robbie Parks on why hurricanes are getting deadlier

"In places where there are high minority populations they bear, by far, the most burden of deaths from tropical cyclones."

Dr. Robbie Parks joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast for a bonus episode to discuss how hurricanes have become deadlier in recent years and how we can better protect vulnerable communities.

Keep reading...Show less
Senator Whitehouse & climate change

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.

IAEA, Japan agree on continuous safety review of Fukushima water

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreed with Japan on its continuous safety review of the discharge of treated water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the IAEA said on Monday in New York.

Institute, WV sues the EPA to spur action on toxic air pollution

Institute, one of two majority-Black communities in the state, was left out of a regulatory effort earlier this year to tighten limits on cancer-causing chemicals.

Biden’s new Climate Corps will train thousands of young people

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a program that puts young people to work fighting climate change.

The reach of wildfire smoke is going global andundoing progress on clean air

In the United States, smoke from wildfires is undoing progress from the Clean Air Act. In poorer countries, the situation is even worse.
U.S. and China aren't invited to speak at U.N.'s climate ambition summit
Photo by the blowup on Unsplash

U.S. and China aren't invited to speak at U.N.'s climate ambition summit

The world’s two biggest polluters were not invited to speak at a United Nations meeting designed to highlight effective action against warming.
Michael Bloomberg goes after petrochemicals
Photo by Pedro Farto on Unsplash

Michael Bloomberg goes after petrochemicals

The former New York City mayor is spending some of his wealth to try to block the construction of petrochemical plants. But this fight may be tougher than his earlier efforts to close coal-burning power plants.
From our Newsroom
children nature

Opinion: When kids feel the magic of nature, they will want to protect it

Improving our quality of life starts with the simple of act of getting kids outdoors.

birds climate change

In the Gulf of Maine, scientists race to save seabirds threatened by climate change

“I could see that, if successful, the methods developed could likely help these species."

fracking economics

Appalachia’s fracking counties are shedding jobs and residents: Study

The 22 counties that produce 90% of Appalachian natural gas lost a combined 10,339 jobs between 2008 and 2021.

Marathon Petroleum y una ciudad de Texas muestran una  potencial crisis de comunicaciones sobre sustancias químicas

Marathon Petroleum y una ciudad de Texas muestran una potencial crisis de comunicaciones sobre sustancias químicas

En los últimos tres años, Marathon ha violado repetidamente la ley de Aire Limpio y tuvo tres emergencias en el semestre de febrero a julio de 2023.

WATCH: How Marathon Petroleum and one Texas city show the potential for a chemical communication crisis

WATCH: How Marathon Petroleum and one Texas city show the potential for a chemical communication crisis

Marathon in Texas City has repeatedly violated the Clean Air Act and had three emergencies in the span of a six month period.

air pollution heart attack

ER visits for heart problems plummeted after Pittsburgh coal processor shut down

Levels of one highly-toxic pollutant fell by 90% and ER visits for heart problems decreased by 42% immediately after the shutdown.

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