Article originally published by The Atlantic
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, may pose a significant—but very local—harm to human health, a new study finds. Mothers who live very close to a fracking well are more likely to give birth to a less healthy child with a low birth weight—and low birth weight can lead to poorer health throughout a person’s life. The report, published Wednesday in Science Advances, is the largest study ever conducted on fracking’s health effects. . .
From Science Advances Abstract: Hydraulic fracturing and infant health: New evidence from Pennsylvania. . . Informal estimates suggest that about 29,000 of the nearly 4 million annual U.S. births occur within 1 km of an active fracking site and that these births therefore may be at higher risk of poor birth outcomes. . .