Letters: Study did not prove fracking caused asthma
As an environmental professional, I am disappointed in a letter and coverage of a study that promote scary headlines far from the reality of safe gas development in Pennsylvania ("Air quality at risk," July 22).
ISSUE | CLEAN AIR
Study did not prove fracking caused asthma
As an environmental professional, I am disappointed in a letter and coverage of a study that promote scary headlines far from the reality of safe gas development in Pennsylvania ("Air quality at risk," July 22).
The study's authors said they "did not prove any link" but found an association between gas development and asthma. The authors did not establish a baseline of cases prior to shale development or consider asthma trends in the commonwealth.
Asthma was on the rise in Pennsylvania - especially in the Northeast - before natural-gas development began in the state, according to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. Also, "Pennsylvania Department of Health data show that heavily drilled counties within the study area have far lower age-adjusted rates of asthma hospitalizations than nine counties in the study area that have no shale-gas production at all," according to an industry campaign.
Emissions data show the state is making considerable air-quality improvements. As Department of Environmental Protection records indicate, air emissions have fallen while natural gas production has increased.
Doug Mehan, PennEnergy Resources, Pittsburgh