Report: Fracking Poses a “Significant” Risk to Human Health

The Independent reports that CHEM Trust, the British charity that investigates the harm chemicals cause humans and wildlife, has concluded that the controversial gas extraction technique known as fracking poses a “significant” risk to human health and British wildlife, and that "an EU-wide moratorium should be implemented until widespread regulatory reform is undertaken."

According to The Independent:

The CHEM Trust report also focuses on the potential health effects of the hundreds of chemicals, along with sand and water, that fracking companies use to prise open rocks. It warns of “significant” pollution to air, groundwater and surface waters and threats to wildlife.

The CHEM Trust reports:

• 38 fracking chemicals are “acutely toxic for humans”
• Some of these toxic chemicals have been linked to breast, prostate and testicular cancer in humans as well as coronary heart disease
• Hazardous materials used in fracking, including chemicals “associated with leukemia in humans” and “toxic to sperm production in males”
• The CHEM Trust is “particularly concerned about the use of hormone-disrupting chemicals”
• “There is clear potential for fracking to cause serious pollution incidents with major impacts on the UK especially areas of recognized wildlife interest” the study concludes.

The CHEM Trust is also asking for full disclosure of the chemicals that are used in the fracking process because many of the chemicals remain secret. According to The Independent, in the US, nearly 300 products used in fracking fluids contain at least one secret chemical.

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