Drinking water, fracking, and infant health.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Shale gas development (SGD) involves hydraulic fracturing, raising concerns about potential environmental and health impacts.
• Contamination of drinking water sources is a primary pathway through which SGD may affect public health.
• Existing research has explored links between SGD and health outcomes, but isolating drinking water as a specific exposure route remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the causal health risks linked to drinking water contamination from shale gas development.
• To quantify the impact of varying timing and location of SGD on water quality and infant health.
• To establish drinking water as a distinct exposure mechanism for SGD.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel dataset linking health outcomes, drinking water quality, and SGD activity through water sources.
• Utilizing variations in the timing and geographic location of shale gas wells to identify causal relationships.
• Employing statistical methods to estimate the effects of water pollution on infant health.

Main Results:

• Consistent and robust evidence demonstrates that drilling shale gas wells negatively affects drinking water quality.
• Infant health outcomes were found to be significantly impacted by proximity and timing of shale gas drilling.
• The study quantifies the adverse effects of water pollution stemming from SGD.

Conclusions:

• Drilling for shale gas poses significant risks to drinking water quality and infant health.
• The social costs associated with water pollution from SGD are substantial.
• Findings necessitate a re-evaluation of current regulations governing public drinking water safety in relation to energy development.