A new study found that people living near hydraulic fracking sites are at great risk of for heart problems, neurological disorders and other diseases. The findings provide evidence in how pollutants related to fracking could increase hospitalization rates.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University made a comprehensive analysis of the health effects of fracking to people by looking at the most common reason among 198,000 hospitalizations recorded on three counties in Pennsylvania between 2007 and 2011. The counties with fracking sites are Bradford and Susquehanna while the third country, Wayne, is not a fracking site but was included to serve as a control subject.
The team identified the top 25 medical conditions for hospitalizations and associated them with the fracking sites. The findings showed that people living near the fracking sites have a 27 percent higher risk of being hospitalized due to heart and neurological problems compared to the place where fracking is banned.
"At this point, we suspect that residents are exposed to many toxicants, noise, and social stressors due to hydraulic fracturing near their homes and this may add to the increased number of hospitalizations," Reynold Panettieri, Jr., study leader and a professor of Medicine and CEET deputy director, said in a news release.
The researchers admitted that further study is needed to determine if it is really the fracking pollutants that caused the hospitalizations. However, the findings are still relevant because they showed a link between fracking and increased health care costs.
The study was published in the July 15 issue of PLOS One.
