Health Hazards of living near Oil and Gas Wells

How often have you heard people who work for Oil & Gas companies say, 

"We are the most regulated industry in the United States"

I would like to know what they base that statement on. Dr. Wilma Subra in her presentation Human Health; Exposure from the Development of Shale Gas, notes that,

"Wastes generated by the exploration of crude oil and natural gas are 'exempt' by Federal law from being regulated as hazardous waste" 

Watch her full presentation here

And then there's the issue of well water contamination by oil and gas drilling activities in Pavillion, Wyoming. The industry is not regulated when it comes to the protection of drinking water supplies either. Says Dan Rather in the second segment of his report:

"Even though the agency is mandated by the Safe Drinking Water Act to monitor the quality of the drinking water across the United States, the EPA has been restricted from testing water near oil and gas fracking sites. That's because the oil and gas industry had some help from Congress in the Bush administration. In the summer of 2005 Congress passes, and president Bush signed the Energy Policy Act. In that bill was a provision that excludes Oil and Gas Companies from the drinking water regulation. It is the only industry to have such an exclusion"

Watch: Dan Rather Reports, "Fracking Gas"

In the report, rancher John Fenton says:

"You don't know how precious water is until you have to start buying it...It's either this or drink water with an unknown toxic chemical in it."

He hauls it in gallon jugs from the town, forty miles away. Because of their tainted well water they can no longer grow a garden, and when they launder or shower there needs to be ventilation because of the methane content in the water. In this different clip he says,

"We've done our own sort of health assessment with the help of a woman named Dr. Wilma Subra....She compiled the information for us. And there are some real common problems between the people who have health symptoms: nose bleeds, lack of smell and taste, headaches, dizziness, neuropathy. You know, no matter where you go, people living in close proximity to this, have the same problems..It affects all humans the same no matter where you are from."

Last but not least, a recent health study shows:

"an association between density and proximity of natural gas wells within a 10-mile radius of maternal residence and prevalence of Congenital Heart Defects and possibly Neural Tube Defects. [Most children with neural tube defects die or experience serious disability.]

Access the report here.