Environmental Groups Circulate Petition Asking Dept. of Health, University Of Pittsburgh For Update On Studies Of Health Impacts Of Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities

On May 4, the Physicians For Social Responsibility PA, Environmental Health Project, Center for Coalfield Justice, FracTracker Alliance and the Mountain Watershed Association Youghiogheny Riverkeeper are inviting citizens to sign on to a petition asking the state Department of Health and the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health to provide the public with an update on the studies of the health impacts of oil and gas industrial facilities as soon as possible.

In November 2019, Gov. Tom Wolf committed to spending $3 million on a pair of studies to explore the potential health impacts of oil and gas development after families impacted by rare childhood cancers demanded that the state investigate the cause of an apparent increase in rare childhood cancers in communities experiencing shale gas development. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Health chose the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health to undertake the studies

The data collection for these studies concluded in September 2022. The University of Pittsburgh's public-facing website for the studies has not been updated since then. 

In early October 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the University of Pittsburgh publicly backed out of a public forum to discuss the progress and process of the studies. 

Unfortunately, the Department of Health has failed to provide any update on the status of the studies since it declined to participate in the forum.

"The residents of the eight-county region included in the study deserve a status update regarding these taxpayer-funded studies designed to examine potential health impacts of human exposure to environmental risk factors, such as oil and gas development. 

"We believe this update is an important step for community inclusion in the research process and that it will strengthen relations with the public, making it easier for researchers to communicate and conduct outreach around the studies' results."

Click Here to sign on to the petition and for more information. 

Visit the University of Pittsburgh’s PA Health And Environment Study webpage for available information on these studies.

Related Articles:

-- DEP Environmental Justice: State Dept. of Health, CDC Launch Environmental Public Health Tracking Program  [PaEN]

-- New State Health Plan Identifies Health Issues Related To Natural Resource Extraction, Climate Change In Top 5 Threats To Health Outcomes; No Update On University Of Pittsburgh Oil & Gas Health Impacts Study  [PaEN] 

Related Articles - University Of Pittsburgh Study:

-- Pitt School Of Public Health, PA Dept Of Health Abruptly Pull Out Of Oct. 5 Public Meeting They Helped Convene On Studies Looking At Links Between Natural Gas Development And Childhood Cancer Rates  [PaEN] 

-- Washington County Community Meeting Updates Residents On PA Health & Environment Studies, Discusses Health Impacts Of Shale Gas Development  [PaEN] 

-- University Of Pittsburgh School Of Public Health Recruiting Families In Southwest PA For Study Of Childhood Cancer, One Of 3 Studies Of Potential Health Impacts Linked To Shale Natural Gas Development  [PaEN] 

-- Dept. Of Health Awards $2.5 Million Contract To University of Pittsburgh To Research Health Effects Of Hydraulic Fracturing In PA   [PaEN] 

Related Articles - Latest Health Impacts:

-- Inside Climate News: Gov. Shapiro Provides Fresh Support To Key Changes Recommended In 2020 Grand Jury Report To Tighten Regulation Of The Natural Gas Drilling Industry To Better Protect Public Health, Environment

-- House Bill Would Expand Safety Zones Around Oil/Gas Wells, Infrastructure To Reduce Adverse Health, Environmental Impacts As Recommended By AG Shapiro’s Grand Jury Report  [PaEN]

-- New University Of Chicago Medical Study Connects Natural Gas Development In PA To Real, Serious Human Health Outcomes And Should Be A Call To Action For Policy Makers - By Alison Caldwell, PhD,  University of Chicago News  [PaEN] 

-- Ohio Research Confirms Health, Environmental Hazards In Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling Wastewater Dumped On Roads, Just Like In PA  [PaEN]

-- Eyes On Shell Reports Shell Petrochemical Plant Fenceline Monitors Found Benzene Emissions Above Toxic Substances Limits; No Timeline For Restarting Plant; DEP Issued Another NOV For Air Violations  [PaEN] 

Impacts On Families - Oil & Gas Facilities

-- Observer-Reporter: Ongoing Water Donation Drive Helping Dozens Of Greene County Families Who Haven’t Had Clean Drinking Water Since June Following Alleged ‘Frack-Out’ At Natural Gas Well Site  [PaEN]

-- Oil & Gas Industry Impacts: Navy Veterans Patrick & Helen Robinson Relate Their 7-Year Struggle Dealing With Impacts Of Mariner East Pipeline Construction In Indiana County, And They Continue   [PaEN]

-- Oil & Gas Industry Impacts: Cambria County Family Sues Sunoco After 3 Years Of Dealing With Damage To Home, Well, Septic System, Property From Mariner East Pipeline Construction    [PaEN]

-- Washington County Family Lawsuit Alleges Shale Gas Company Violated The Terms Of Their Lease By Endangering Their Health, Contaminating Their Water Supply And Not Protecting Their Land    [PaEN]

-- Natural Gas Pipeline Pigging Facility Malfunction Dec. 27 Released 1.1 Million Cubic Feet Of Natural Gas; Same Facility Plagued Community With Blowdowns 3 Times A Day, 7 Days A Week For Nearly 10 Years Until Criminal Charges Brought Against CNX  [PaEN] 

-- FracTracker Alliance Announces 7 Winners Of 2022 Community Sentinel Award For Environmental Stewardship; Including PA’s Laurie Barr  [PaEN]

Health Issues - Oil & Gas Facilities

-- Environmental Health Project: PA’s Natural Gas Boom - What Went Wrong? Why Does It Matter? What Can We Do Better To Protect Public Health?  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project: Setback Distances And The Regulations We Need To Protect Public Health From Oil & Gas Facilities  [PaEN]

-- Senate Hearing: Body Of Evidence Is 'Large, Growing,’ ‘Consistent’ And 'Compelling' That Shale Gas Development Is Having A Negative Impact On Public Health; PA Must Act  [PaEN]

-- Presentations Now Available From Shale Gas & Public Health Conference In Nov. Hosted By PA League Of Women Voters & University Of Pittsburgh Graduate School Of Public Health   [PaEN]

-- Shale Gas & Public Health Conference: Living Near Oil & Gas Facilities Means Higher Health Risks, The Closer You Live, The Higher The Risk - By Nicole Deziel PhD MHS, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health   [PaEN]

-- Shale Gas & Public Health Conference: Economically, Socially Deprived Areas In PA Have A Much Greater Chance Of Having Oil & Gas Waste Disposed In Their Communities - By Joan Casey, PhD, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health  [PaEN]

-- Shale Gas & Public Health Conference: We've Got Enough Compelling Evidence To Enact Health Protective Policies For Families Now - By Edward C. Ketyer, M.D., President, Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania   [PaEN]

-- Shale Gas & Public Health Conference: When It Started, It Was Kind Of Nice, But What Happened Afterwards Really Kind Of Devastated Our Community - By Rev. Wesley Silva, former Council President Marianna Borough, Washington County   [PaEN]

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-- Yale School Of Public Health Study Found PA Children 2 To 3 Times More Likely To Be Diagnosed With Leukemia If They Live Near Unconventional Shale Gas Facilities  [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: PA's Low-Producing Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Are Leaking Too Much Methane, The Industry Needs To Take Care Of Its Own Trash   [PaEN]

-- Study: Industry Data Shows Hazardous Air Pollutants Are ‘Ubiquitous’ In The Natural Gas Transmission System; More Justification For Robust Leak Prevention Programs   [PaEN]

-- Earthworks, FracTracker Alliance Release New Online Oil & Gas Threat Map; Find Natural Gas Facilities, Wells Near You [PaEN]

-- American Lung Association Report Details Health And Environmental Impacts Of Fuel-Burning Appliances At Home  [PaEN]

Impacts On Communities - Oil & Gas Facilities

-- Inside Climate News: Q/A With Eliza Griswold Pulitzer Winning Author Of Deep Dive Into Fracking In PA, How Extractive Industries ‘Gut’ Communities  [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil & Natural Gas Drilling: An Industrial Machine Moving Across The PA Countryside Leaving Behind Big Liabilities & Spreading Pollution Everywhere It Goes [PaEN]

-- FracTracker Alliance Releases 4th Watershed Oil & Gas Drilling Impact Analysis In Susquehanna River Basin - Towanda & Schrader Creek Watersheds    [PaEN]

-- FracTracker Alliance: Lycoming Creek Watershed Oil & Gas Drilling Impact Analysis In Lycoming County    [PaEN]

-- PJM’s Preliminary Review Of Christmas Storm Electric Generation Failures Shows Natural Gas Units Failed To Provide Power At Over Triple The Rate Of Other Generation  [PaEN]

-- PUC Alerts Consumers Utility Natural Gas Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 128%, Electric Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 34%; Both Driven By Cost Of Natural Gas On World Markets  [PaEN]

-- PA PUC: Cost Of Natural Gas Provided By Major Utilities In PA Increased As Much As 154% Over Last Year  [PaEN]

-- Ohio River Valley Institute: 6% Population Loss, 3.3% Job Loss In PA's 'Natural Gas' Counties Show Misplaced Faith In Economic Benefits Of Oil & Gas [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- DEP Environmental Justice: State Dept. of Health, CDC Launch Environmental Public Health Tracking Program  [PaEN]

-- Center For Coalfield Justice: Nearly 11 Months Since An EQT Shale Gas Well Frac-Out Left Residents Near New Freeport, Greene County Without Clean Water; DEP’s Investigation Not Complete  [PaEN]

-- Earthworks Submits Video Evidence To DEP Of More Air Pollution Violations By Gas Flares At Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County  [PaEN]

[Posted: May 4, 2023]  PA Environment Digest