![]() ![]() As an example, over the course of 20 days, Radium concentration in flowback from a Marcellus Shale gas well in Greene County Pennsylvania increased by almost a factor of four from 74 Bq/L to 240 Bq/L. Radium is released though variation in ionic strength (salinity) differentials (Sturchio et al. Radium and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in produced water are positively correlated. It has long been known that Radium dissolved in fracked pore water or adsorbed on clay particles and grain coatings can dissolve and return to the surface in produced water a fact that has led to tightening of controls over radioactivity in the conventional oil industry. The contaminated water has to be safely disposed of but this is often associated with violations of legal disposal constraints. This produced water and backflow returns to the surface with a high load of dissolved and suspended solids including naturally occurring radioactive elements Uranium, Thorium, Radium and their decay products, collectively termed NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material). The method involves the explosive destruction of large volumes of underground gas and oil retaining rocks and the pumping down of large amounts of what is termed “produced water” which initially contains various chemical and sand additives. The economic advantages of fracking have led to a rapid and on-going growth in the extraction of natural gas globally. New unconventional gas extraction technology, involving horizontal drilling and explosive hydraulic fracturing of underground rock strata has been termed “fracking” a term which we employ here. There is some evidence that the effect is associated with private water well density and/or environmental law violations. Conclusions: Fracking appears to be associated with early infant mortality in populations living in counties where the process is carried out. Increased risk was associated with exposure to groundwater, expressed as the county ratio of water wells divided by the number of births. For the five north east fracked counties Bradford, Susquehanna, Lycoming, Wyoming and Tioga the combined early infant mortality increased from 34 deaths to 60 (RR 1.66 1.05, 2.51 p = 0.014), whereas in the south western 5 counties Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette, Butler and Greene the increase was modest, 157 to 178 (RR 1.18 0.95, 1.46 p = 0.13). Results: Whilst early infant deaths decreased by 2.4% in the State over the period, in the 82,558 births in the 10 fracked counties there was a significant increase in mortality (238 vs 193 RR = 1.29 95% CI 1.05, 1.55 p = 0.011). ![]() Methods: We compared early infant mortality for 2007-2010 after fracking developed with a control period 2003-2006, contrasting a group of the 10 most heavily fracked counties with the rest of Pennsylvania. Objectives: To investigate association between early (0-28 days) infant mortality by county in Pennsylvania and fracking. This involves the dispersion of “produced water” which contains naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) which may contaminate surface water and pose a health risk. Background: There has been a rapid global development of the horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing process termed fracking. ![]()
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