begin quote from:
(CNN)Ever
wondered if your asthma attacks can be tied to the fracking wells near
your house? You are probably right. Asthma patients are 1.5 to four
times more likely to have asthma attacks if …
Fracking wells may increase asthma attacks, study says
Asthma 02:42
Story highlights
- Asthma patients are 1.5 to four times more likely to have attacks if living near bigger or more fracking wells, according to a study
- The study adds to a growing body of evidence that links the fracking industry to adverse health outcomes
(CNN)Ever wondered if your asthma attacks can be tied to the fracking wells near your house? You are probably right.
Asthma
patients are 1.5 to four times more likely to have asthma attacks if
they live near bigger or a larger number of unconventional natural gas
development wells, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine.
The
researchers at Johns Hopkins University partnered with Geisinger Health
System and conducted the study using electronic health records from
2005 to 2012 in north and central Pennsylvania.
Among
the 27,000 identified asthma cases with patients age 5 to 90 that met
the study's criteria, about 20,000 were categorized by the researchers
as having mild attacks (new oral corticosteroid orders), 1,800 were
moderate attacks (emergency room visits), and 4,700 suffered from severe
attacks (hospitalizations).
Pennsylvania
has seen rapid unconventional natural gas development in recent years,
with more than 6,200 wells being drilled from the mid-2000s to 2012. The
study researchers assigned each well metrics based on location, depth,
number, developmental phases and production volume and length data
obtained from state departments.
They
then mapped out the wells and the location of the asthma patients and
compared them with patients who did not have asthma attacks in the same
year.
The study found associations
between increased risks of asthma attacks and living close to more or
bigger natural gas wells across all four stages of development: well pad
preparation, well drilling, stimulation (the stage commonly referred to
as fracking) and production. Asthma patients who live near wells that
are in the production phase, which can last for years, are at greater
risks.
The findings are robust
even after taking into consideration factors such as family history,
smoking, socioeconomic status and proximity to major roads.
The
current study does not explain the exact medical causes behind their
findings, explained the study's lead author, Sara Rasmussen, a Ph.D.
candidate at Johns Hopkins University. Residents living near natural gas
wells are exposed to a variety of negative influences, such as
psychosocial stress, noise, heavy truck traffic, sleep disruption and
air pollution.
She said more
research needs to be done to find out how stress and air pollution
affect the relationship between the worsening of asthma and nearby
fracking wells.
But
she said the study adds to a growing body of evidence that links
unconventional natural gas development to adverse health outcomes, such
as preterm births, low birth weight and skin and respiratory problems.
"This is the first study of objective respiratory outcomes and its
relationship with unconventional natural gas development," Rasmussen
said.
Rasmussen said that since
the research project did not single out how far away residents live from
development wells as a separate factor, "we can't really give
recommendations on a safe distance." She suggested concerned patients
speak with their doctors about their condition.
"Going forward, everyone can learn from Pennsylvania's experience," said Brian S. Schwartz in a news release,
the study's co-author and a professor in the Department of
Environmental Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins. "State regulatory bodies
should use the growing number of health studies to understand the
possible environmental and public health impacts of this industry and
how to minimize them."
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