What Cows Can Tell Us About The Dangers Of Fracking

[eridani]

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/09/19/2652731/cows-fracking-safety/?utm_content=buffer7babe&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer

Evidence on the way fracking affects the health of humans is scarce, in large part because drilling companies go to great lengths to keep that information hidden. That’s why two Cornell University researchers turned to cows to find out just how toxic fracking pollution is. The results were alarming, if not exactly surprising.

The study, by Michelle Bamberger and Robert E. Oswald, found that consequences ranged from near-immediate death to stillbirths and genetic defects in offspring that persisted for years after exposure to fracking wastewater.

While the authors noted that theirs was not a controlled experiment, which wouldn’t be feasible, two cases provided naturally-occurring control groups. On one farm, 60 head of cattle drank from an allegedly wastewater-polluted creek while 36 drank clean water. Of the 60, “21 died and 16 failed to produce calves the following spring. Of the 36 that were not exposed, no health problems were observed, and only one cow failed to breed.”

But Bamberger and Oswald didn’t just look at livestock. They also include cases of humans and their “companion animals” suffering the effects of pollution. In one case, two homeowners “located within two miles of approximately 25 shale gas wells” saw multiple instances of wastewater dumping and spillage.

[truedelphi]

1. And sadly, the mid level employees at the EPA that were also doing

Crucial studies on risks associated with specific fracking chemicals were told to stand down.

[Champion Jack]

2. Cows are the new Canaries in the coal mine…