endocrine disrupting chemicals
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Colorado kids with leukemia are more than twice as likely to live near dense oil and gas development
A recent study suggests that living near a higher density of oil and gas wells increases childhood cancer risk.
A recent study found that Colorado children who’d been diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia were more than twice as likely to live near dense oil and gas development, including both conventional and fracking wells, than healthy children throughout the state.
Oil and gas wells emit chemicals that have been linked to increased risk for this type of leukemia — the most common form of childhood cancer — including benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, among others.
Previous research in Colorado and Pennsylvania, which are among the top 10 energy-producing states in the country, have also linked living near oil and gas wells with higher risk for childhood leukemia, but this is the first to assess whether the density of wells and the volume of oil and gas being produced leads to greater risk.
The new study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, looked at medical records for more than 3,000 children born in Colorado between 1992 and 2019. The researchers found that children who were diagnosed with leukemia between the ages of two and nine were more than twice as likely to live within five kilometers — about three miles — of dense oil and gas development compared to healthy children. The study also found that Children who’d been diagnosed with leukemia during this time period were between 1.4 and 2.64 times more likely to live within 13 kilometers (about eight miles) of dense oil and gas development.
“Considering the density of oil and gas development is really important,” Lisa McKenzie, lead author of the study and associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the Colorado School of Public Health, told EHN. “If you were in the unusual situation of having just one oil and gas well within a kilometer of your home, that might not have increased your child’s risk for leukemia. However, we found that if you had lots and lots of wells within 13 kilometers [about eight miles] of your home, that did increase the risk for childhood leukemia.”
The study included 451 children with leukemia and 2,706 healthy children, and considered the density of oil and gas development near their homes starting at the time their mothers conceived them through the time of their diagnosis (or a similar time frame for healthy children). The researchers assessed the density of oil and gas production by looking at the number of wells present, how close they were to a child’s home, the number of new wells being drilled, and how much oil and gas was being produced at various times within three, five, and 13 kilometers of their homes.
“Children living near the densest areas of oil and gas development had the highest risk increase,” McKenzie said, “but we also found that children with leukemia were much more likely to be living within three or five kilometers of any oil and gas wells than children without leukemia.”
The researchers controlled for other childhood cancer risk factors including other sources of pollution around the home, UV exposure, distance to the nearest highway, the mothers’ ages, and the child’s biological sex and birth weight.
“This study has numerous strengths,” Cassandra Clark, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota's Division of Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research, told EHN. Clark, who was not involved in the study but co-authored a 2022 paper on childhood cancer risk and fracking in Pennsylvania that made similar findings, said this study’s strengths include using a larger sample size than previous research, controlling for other childhood cancer risks, and focusing on the age range where childhood leukemia incidence is highest.
“We have now seen three high-quality case-control studies documenting increased pediatric leukemia risk associated with proximity to oil and gas development, and the effects observed are relatively consistent across studies,” Clark said, adding that there’s now enough research on this for policymakers to “develop health-protective policies for oil and gas development.”
In 2020, Colorado legislators increased the state’s setback distances — the minimum distance between new fracking wells and homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses — from 500 feet from homes and 1,000 feet for high-occupancy buildings like schools, to 2,000 feet (a little more than half a kilometer) from all schools and homes. Those distances are among the most health-protective in the country.
In Pennsylvania, for example, the setback distance is 500 feet (about 0.15 kilometers) for any occupied building, but this can be waived by property owners, and some facilities operate within 300 feet of residential buildings. Public health experts have warned that these distances are not great enough to protect public health, but efforts to expand setback distances in the state have repeatedly been shot down by Pennsylvania lawmakers.
“Our research suggests that just increasing setback distances isn’t enough,” McKenzie said. “Current setback laws only consider where one new well is going. I would really encourage policymakers to consider the cumulative impacts of everything going on around homes or in areas where new oil and gas development is going to protect vulnerable populations like young children.”
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EHN reporters win four Golden Quill Awards
Cami Ferrell and Kristina Marusic received recognition for their investigative reporting on hydrogen energy and chemical recycling.
PITTSBURGH — EHN reporters Cami Ferrell and Kristina Marusic won four 2025 Golden Quill awards for their reporting on hydrogen energy and chemical recycling.
The Golden Quills competition, held by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, honors excellence in print, broadcast, photography, videography and digital journalism in Western Pennsylvania and nearby counties in Ohio and West Virginia. This was the 61st year for the annual contest, and winners were announced at an awards dinner in Pittsburgh on May 28th.
Ferrell and Marusic won in the science/environment category for excellence in written journalism for their co-reported series on federally-funded hydrogen hub projects across the country, which uncovered a lack of transparency in the planning process and documented widespread frustration in communities anticipating hydrogen energy development, including those in Texas and western Pennsylvania. Videographer Jimmy Evans also received recognition for his work on the video feature for that reporting.
"It's an honor to be recognized among so many talented journalists," said Ferrell, who visited Pittsburgh for the first time to receive her award. "I hope our reporting continues to have a positive impact."
Marusic also won in both the enterprise/investigative and news feature categories for her series on chemical recycling in Appalachia, which documented community fights against proposed waste processing facilities in Youngstown, Ohio; Point Township, Pennsylvania; and Follansbee, West Virginia. That investigation also won one of four best-of-show Ray Sprigle Memorial Awards.
"I'm really proud to receive an award named for such an important journalist," said Marusic, who also won Golden Quill awards for her reporting on environmental health in western Pennsylvania in 2023, 2022 and 2020.
Kristina Marusic (left) and Cami Ferrell at the 2025 Golden Quill Awards in Pittsburgh
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Credit: Photo by Rosalind Chang on Unsplash
Adolescents are facing a global health crisis that’s only getting worse
By 2030, nearly half a billion young people worldwide could be living with obesity or overweight, marking a sharp decline in adolescent health.
In short:
- The Lancet commission warns that adolescent health is reaching a “tipping point,” with rising rates of obesity, mental illness, and climate-related risks.
- High-income regions and parts of Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East already see more than a third of young people dealing with obesity or overweight.
- While smoking and alcohol use are down, progress on youth health has been undermined by COVID-19 and chronic underfunding.
Key quote:
“The rise in obesity and related diseases is not just a matter of individual choices – it’s the result of environments flooded with health-harming products including ultra-processed food, alongside policies that fail to protect young people.”
— Johanna Ralston, CEO of the World Obesity Federation
Why this matters:
Public health infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with what young people now face. Obesity, mental illness, and climate threats are piling up for the next generation, and they’re hitting young people early and hard. Without investment in adolescent health, there's a real risk of locking in poor outcomes that echo into adulthood — impacting everything from chronic disease to economic opportunity.
Read more: Untangling the causes of obesity
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Credit: marcnorman/BigStock Photo ID: 21123533
New EPA reorganization may quietly dismantle chemical health watchdog
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to gut its independent chemical risk program, potentially stalling regulation of dangerous substances and handing a long-sought victory to the chemical industry.
In short:
- The EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), which offers independent health assessments of toxic chemicals, is being splintered as part of a wider agency restructuring.
- IRIS has long been targeted by the chemical industry and was recently attacked in legislation and lobbying efforts supported by the American Chemistry Council.
- Experts warn that without a centralized, science-first hub like IRIS, chemical risk research will become fragmented, slowing down protections and enabling regulatory loopholes.
Key quote:
“Nothing is getting regulated right now."
— Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, former principal deputy assistant administrator of the EPA Office of Research and Development and a former EPA science adviser
Why this matters:
The timing couldn’t be more convenient — for the chemical lobby. Gutting IRIS could mean years-long delays in protecting people from the very real dangers of daily chemical exposure. With over 80,000 chemicals registered for use in the U.S. — and more added each year — slowing regulation means longer exposure to toxic substances linked to cancer, reproductive harm, and chronic illness. This is part of a larger rollback strategy with major impacts for environmental health, just as new threats like PFAS demand urgent, science-based action.
Read more: The silent threat beneath our feet: How deregulation fuels the spread of forever chemicals
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Newsletter
Credit: Killari Hotaru/Unsplash
Plastic makers exaggerate recycled claims using flawed accounting
A system called “mass balance” lets companies credit virgin plastic as recycled, raising concerns from watchdogs and prompting a shareholder revolt at snack giant Mondelez.
In short:
- Mondelez plans to use mass balance accounting to claim that up to 50% of its Triscuit packaging contains chemically recycled plastic, though it hasn't labeled products as such.
- Experts argue that mass balance allows companies to falsely market plastics as “recycled” even when the material is mostly virgin and when recycled content is burned or turned into fuel instead.
- A shareholder resolution demands that Mondelez justify its claims, warning that the practice adds legal and financial risk while doing little to curb plastic pollution.
Key quote:
“This is just a bogus scheme.”
— Jan Dell, chemical engineer, founder of The Last Beach Cleanup, and Mondelez shareholder
Why this matters:
The public has been told for years that recycling is a straightforward path to environmental sustainability. But the reality for plastic is murkier — and often misleading. The chemical recycling process known as pyrolysis turns plastic waste into an oil that rarely ends up as new packaging. Instead, it’s commonly burned or downgraded into lubricants and waxes. The so-called “mass balance” approach used to account for this process doesn’t track where recycled content ends up; it just assigns credits on paper. That means companies can market their products as eco-friendly even when little to no recycled plastic is actually used. The recycling of plastic is itself controversial, damaging the environment and polluting nearby communities while producing dubious benefits.
Related:
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Newsletter
Credit: Photo by tanvi sharma on Unsplash
Plastics industry misled public on decades-old recycling tech
The fossil fuel industry has aggressively promoted “advanced recycling” as a breakthrough solution to plastic pollution — even while knowing it rarely works.
In short:
- A new report from the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) reveals that plastic producers have long known advanced recycling — also called chemical recycling — is neither economically nor technically viable at scale.
- Despite public promises of circularity, most facilities end up burning plastic into fuel, not turning it into new plastic, undermining claims of sustainability.
- Internal documents and past statements show companies were aware of the high costs, pollution, and technological flaws for decades but kept pushing the narrative of innovation.
Key quote:
"The information ecosystem around advanced recycling is totally dominated by the industry itself."
— Davis Allen, investigative researcher at the CCI and author of the report
Why this matters:
Plastic pollution is a public health crisis — linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and environmental degradation. As the public demands action, so-called false solutions like advanced recycling delay real progress and perpetuate harm under the guise of innovation. Rather than closing the loop, these processes more often resemble incineration, releasing toxic byproducts along the way. Burning plastic releases a cocktail of air pollutants linked to asthma, cancers, and endocrine disruption — especially in the low-income communities that house many of these facilities. And still, the narrative of innovation persisted, bolstered by millions in lobbying and slick campaigns promising a “circular economy.”
Read more from EHN:
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Top Story
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.
HOUSTON — Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have previously violated the pollution limits in their permits have recently applied for new federal operating permits or renewals.
These facilities include the Chevron Pasadena Refining facility, the LyondellBasell Houston refinery, and the Chevron Phillips Chemical Sweeny Complex in Brazoria County, all of which are seeking renewed Title V permits.
Title V air permits are required for facilities that are considered major sources of air pollution by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In general, a facility is considered a major source when it emits more than 100 tons of most pollutants or more than 10 tons of hazardous air pollutants, which are known to cause cancer or serious health effects, each year.
There are 1,455 Title V facilities in Texas, according to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) spokesperson Victoria Cann. This represents more than 10% of all Title V facilities in the U.S., according to data from 2020, which puts the national total of Title V facilities at 12,726. There are currently 88 facilities seeking new or renewed Title V permits in Texas, according to TCEQ.
Chevron’s Pasadena refining facility
Chevron is seeking a renewal of their Title V operating permit for the company’s Pasadena refining facility.
The facility violated the Clean Air Act in eight of the past 12 quarters and violated the Clean Water Act in seven of the past 12 quarters, including elevated effluent water discharges of benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylenes at levels up to 520% as high as the legal limit, according to the EPA’s compliance database. Benzene has been linked to a number of health problems, including an increased cancer risk and cell disruption. Ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylenes have been linked to short-term impacts like headaches, dizziness, and fatigue, and long-term problems like memory, vision, and hearing loss.
Houston area residents recently gathered to attend a hearing on Chevron’s Pasadena Title V permit renewal. Some attendees shared support for renewing the permit, citing economic and community donations, while others shared concerns about health impacts from the refinery’s operations.
Inyang Uwak, an environmental epidemiologist and research and policy director at the environmental group Air Alliance Houston, said the refinery’s benzene fenceline monitoring levels have been above the EPA action level since April of last year.
While exceeding the action level is not a violation in itself, it does require the refinery to determine a “root cause analysis and take corrective action.” In the past two years, Chevron Pasadena Refinery has exceeded the EPA action level for benzene 18 times.
“I know benzene can be very scary,” Chevron Pasadena Refinery’s environmental manager Steph Seewald said at the hearing, stating that the new data for the first quarter of 2025 should be available soon, and is “trending downward.” Federal data to confirm this is not yet available at the time of publication.
Pasadena Refining’s general manager Tifanie Steele said that since Chevron purchased the refinery six years ago from Petrobras, the facility has made “several improvements” and cited decreases in overall emissions by “investing time and money into improving compliance.”
LyondellBasell’s Houston refinery
LyondellBasell's Title V permit hearing for its Houston-area refinery is scheduled for May 6, 2025, despite an announcement that this facility will soon close.
Violations in the last three years at this facility, according to EPA data, include one quarter violating the Clean Air Act, four quarters violating the Clean Water Act and three quarters violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which governs the disposal of solid, hazardous waste.
The future of the facility remains unclear, but the company stated it plans to start operations of “circular projects” in 2025. Residents and environmental groups like Air Alliance Houston say they hope this hearing will provide clarity about the company’s future in Houston.
Chevron Phillips Chemical’s manufacturing facilities in Brazoria County
Chevron Phillips Chemical’s second largest manufacturing facility in Brazoria County, which spans across three sites, is also seeking a renewal of their federal operating permit.
According the the EPA, the Chevron Phillips Chemical Sweeny Complex has violated its permits numerous times during the past three years: for one quarter it violated the Clean Air Act, for seven quarters it violated the Clean Water Act, for six quarters it violated the Safe Drinking Water Act, and for five quarters it violated the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
The Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area is home to one of the nation’s largest concentrations of petrochemical facilities, accounting for nearly 42% of the nation’s supply. The dense population of petrochemical facilities creates concern about cumulative impacts for communities that live in these regions, which recent studies suggest are often underestimated.
In order to keep community members in the Greater Houston area informed, Air Alliance Houston told Environmental Health News that they maintain a database called AirMail to alert residents of upcoming public meetings regarding permits. The TCEQ has made attempts in the past five years to increase public participation in meetings through avenues like increasing language accessibility, but participation is still lacking.
“Similar to voting, [attending public meetings] is your opportunity to have a voice,” Air Alliance representative Cassandra Cassados Klein told EHN. “We know that civic engagement is a great tool in protecting our air quality.”
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