‘Fracking’ may increase air pollution health risks

Mar 24, 2012 No Comments by

According to a report in the LA Times Air pollution caused by hydraulic fracturing, the controversial oil and gas drilling method which is being promoted in areas of the West of Ireland, may contribute to “acute and chronic health problems for those living near natural gas drilling sites”. Critics have largely focused so far on fracking’s possible contamination of underground and surface water, but it presents other problems too: studies have shown that air pollution at many of these sites is greater than in surrounding areas.

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About the author

Caroline Whyte collaborated with Richard Douthwaite on an online update of his book Short Circuit: Strengthening Local Economies in an Unstable World in 2002-3 and went on to study ecological economics at Mälardalen University in Sweden in 2005-6, writing a masters thesis on the relationship between central banking and sustainability. She compiled the conclusion for Feasta's 2011 book Fleeing Vesuvius and was a contributor to the Feasta Climate Group's book Sharing for Survival in 2012. She lives in central France, from where she edits the Feasta website.