skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

JD, Usha Vance visit Greenland as Trump administration eyes territory; Maine nurses, medical workers call for improved staffing ratios; Court orders WA to rewrite CAFO dairy operation permit regulations; MS aims to expand Fresh Start Act to cut recidivism.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Dept. of Health and Human Services prepares to cut 10,000 more jobs. Election officials are unsure if a Trump executive order will be enacted, and Republicans in Congress say they aim to cut NPR and PBS funding.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural folks face significant clean air and water risks due to EPA cutbacks, a group of policymakers is working to expand rural health care via mobile clinics, and a new study maps Montana's news landscape.

Physician Groups Publish "One-Stop Shop" for Fracking Science

play audio
Play

Wednesday, March 21, 2018   

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Physicians' groups are sounding the alarm on the health risks posed by hydraulic fracturing, and have published a compendium of scientific evidence that they say confirms the damage caused by fracking operations.

Joel Minor, associate attorney with the group Earthjustice, said mounting evidence shows that Wyoming families in the Upper Green River Basin are exposed to harmful volatile organic compounds released into the air, which can lead to increased asthma attacks, heart attacks and even premature death.

"This compendium really puts that all in one place, and shows people who live near unconventional oil and gas wells that they are at a higher risk for a number of health impacts,” Minor said, “most likely caused by exposure to things like benzene, that are leaked into the air during the hydraulic fracturing process."

More than 17 million Americans currently live within a mile of an active oil or gas well - including more than 2 million children and older adults, groups especially vulnerable to air pollution and contaminated water. Proponents of fracking say when done correctly, the process is environmentally safe, and claim any spills or leaks are essentially the same as gasoline spilled when people fill up their tanks.

Minor admits that any single spill may not be significant on its own. But he warned pollution, which largely occurs when transporting chemicals and wastewater - especially near watersheds and farmlands - can be cause for concern.

"I think it's important to look at all of those spills together - and think about the total volume of chemicals, and fluids, and waste products that are being spilled - and look at those cumulative impacts over time,” he said.

Other health risks linked with fracking include respiratory disease, cancer, and two leading causes of infant death. Researchers also found that a disproportionate number of drilling operations and other infrastructure are located close to low-income areas and communities of color.

The report was published by Physicians for Social Responsibility and Concerned Health Professionals of New York.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Mississippi's three-year recidivism rate reached 40% in 2023, according to state task force data - among the highest in the United States. (Pixabay)

Social Issues

play sound

For thousands of Mississippians leaving prison each year, a single question looms large: Who will hire me? State lawmakers could remove some of the …


Health and Wellness

play sound

Rural communities in Missouri are bracing for a tough reality as they plan ahead for the possibility of federal cuts to programs such as Medicaid…

Social Issues

play sound

This has been "National March Into Literacy Month" but it may become tougher over the summer to "march" into a public library and ask for help finding…


Students harvest food grown in the school greenhouse and use it for meals in their culinary program's in-house restaurant and cafeteria, creating a sustainable cycle. (Courtesy of Exact Solar)

Environment

play sound

Groups in Pennsylvania are asking Congress to preserve federal clean-energy tax incentives. Concerned about the possible repeal of 30% energy tax …

play sound

By Sara Hashemi for Sentient.Broadcast version by Freda Ross for Texas News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration John…

The USDA reported since April 2024, there have been avian influenza virus detections in 336 commercial flocks and 207 backyard flocks, for a total of more than 90.9 million birds affected.(Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

West Virginians are more concerned about bird flu's effect on grocery costs rather than health implications, and Republican voters are more likely to …

Social Issues

play sound

The federal HALT Fentanyl Act advancing through Congress would increase prison time for fentanyl traffickers. Kentuckians convicted on distribution …

Social Issues

play sound

Labor groups representing thousands of Minnesota state workers find themselves at serious odds with Gov. Tim Walz over his move this week to reduce …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021