Fracking Chemicals Disrupt Hormones

June 23, 2014  :"We don't know what the adverse health consequences might be in humans and animals exposed to these chemicals," Kassotis said, "but infants and children would be most vulnerable because they are smaller, and infants lack the ability to break down these chemicals." 

Many chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, can disrupt not only the human body's reproductive hormones but also the glucocorticoid and thyroid hormone receptors, which are necessary to maintain good health, a new study finds.

... "Among the chemicals that the fracking industry has reported using most often, all 24 that we have tested block the activity of one or more important hormone receptors," said the study's presenting author, Christopher Kassotis, a PhD student at the University of Missouri, Columbia. "The high levels of hormone disruption by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that we measured, have been associated with many poor health outcomes, such as infertility, cancer and birth defects."

The results were presented Monday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago.

 Source: Hormone-disrupting activity of fracking chemicals worse than initially found

See some of the chemicals used on the Haliburton site: Colorado: What's In The Fluids?

Note that each fracturing job uses several million gallons of water! So, that 'measly' 0.5% of actual frack fluid additives still contains thousands of gallons of chemicals!

Smelling Fumes Makes Me Fume!

My grandson's back yard, 1/4 mile from a gas well

I was appalled and quite concerned a week ago when I caught whiffs of petroleum on the breeze that came in my son's open windows in south west Greeley. I smelled it too in his back yard when we stood by my grandson's swing set! They live just 1/4 mile away from one of Noble Energy's big well pads that has a gigantic flare stack which burns off the so-called 'sour'gas, a euphemism for the dangerous Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) which can be lethal. It was quite breezy that early evening so it's all the more surprising that the fumes were even noticeable!

• Researchers in Canada have measured more than 60 air pollutants downwind of natural gas flares. (Sources of Oil and Gas Air Pollution)

• "..Many of the substances emitted by flaring, incineration and venting can affect humans, animals, plants and the environment. Effects depend on the magnitude, duration and frequency of exposure, as well as the susceptibility of the individual organism or environment"

•  "..there is no question that high enough concentrations of petroleum-related emissions could affect the respiratory health, vision and skin of humans and animals. Exposure to some VOC and PAH substances increases the likelihood of cancers." ~ Source: Flaring Questions and Answers

The giant flare stack

Whose brilliant idea was it to put picnic tables near the site?

Did You Feel the Earthquake?

It did not just rattle my house, but my nerves too! When my family lived in Las Vegas, Nevada, we experienced a couple of very noticeable earthquakes that originated in California. One was so strong and long that we woke up the kids and told them to get under the dining room table. Even so, that quake was not nearly as shocking as the one I experienced here in Greeley on May 31st; probably because I did not expect it to happen here! 

When my brain accepted the possibility of a quake, and I saw all my neighbors in the street, I remarked for all to hear, "Probably due to all the fracking!" I certainly hope I am wrong, but learning the following, it seems very likely that there is a connection! 

• Did Fracking Fluid Cause Greeley Quake?

•  "..Quake trackers have long noted that injection wells generate temblors. There are more than 150,000 injection wells that hold hundreds of billions of fracking wastewater in the United States. The location of the wells in states like Texas and Oklahoma and Ohio correspond to earthquake activity. The Tribune reported on Sunday that the epicenter of the Greeley quake is located a mile and a half from “two oil and gas wastewater injection wells that have not been inspected by the state since August 2012.” The Tribune reported that the wells are operated by Denver-based High Sierra Water Services." ~ : Greeley quake adds ammunition to Colorado fracking war

Oil and Gas: Effects on Children's Health

Are you still unclear about the fracking process, and the health risks it poses to people, but especially to babies and young children, who live in close proximity to wells? 

The yellow link below leads to an informative 40 minute presentation by Jerome Paulson, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at George Washington University School of Medicine. It is provided by the Center for Environmental Health. The program starts about five minutes in so as to skip the introduction. Photo courtesy of Our Health, Our Future, Our Longmont. 

 "Unconventional Natural Gas Extraction and Special Vulnerabilities for Children"


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Also see "Drilling vs. the American Dream: Fracking impacts on property rights and home values"


"Realtors in Colorado are taking note as clients become increasingly hesitant about buying homes near drilling sites, with fewer and fewer bids rolling in. “Some don’t want to even look at anything remotely close to any existing or proposed well sites,” Boulder County real estate agent Nanner Fisher told the Colorado Independent. She also told Boulder iJournal that “if there is a well that’s visible when you show a property, [the prospective buyer] will ask to look for something else. A lot of it is the visual effect of the well site,” she said. “And, they think if you can see it, it’s gotta be close enough that it’s not healthy.”