In response to the editorial written by representatives of the Heartland Institute that appeared in the Sun-Gazette on Oct. 27 claiming no connection between the oil and gas industry and cancer, I offer the following:

28,021 tons of benzene are emitted per year by the industry.

Reputable organizations, including the EPA, classify benzene as a known human carcinogen.

Exposure to benzene is linked to higher risks of cancer, particularly several forms of leukemia, as well as multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

A report from the Clean Air Task Force indicates that almost 25% of Pennsylvanians live within the half-mile threat radius around industry operations.

The Clean Air Task Force’s Threat Map shows that 4,237 people in Lycoming County live within half a mile of active wells, compressors and processors.

The map indicates those within the threat radius have “cause for concern” over potential health impacts.

The harms associated with fracking – including asthma, other respiratory diseases, heart problems, mental health problems, and cancer – have been well documented. In what many call a growing crisis, infants, children, pregnant women, and the elderly are proving especially vulnerable to the industry’s harms. And yet, the Shapiro administration and legislators who could make a difference merely double down on the false insistence that the industry is safe.

So does fracking harm public health? Download the Compendium of Scientific, Medical, and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking [www.psr.org], a compilation of 2,303 peer-reviewed studies, over 90% of which show harm. The Compendium shows “no evidence that fracking can be practiced in a manner that does not threaten human health directly or without imperiling climate stability upon which human health depends.”

But don’t take my word for it. Read the evidence, and decide for yourself.

KAREN ELIAS

Lock Haven

Submitted by Virtual Newsroom