There is a growing body of research studies on the negative impact of fracking on air and water quality, as well as public health. The health implications and effects of fracking have not been adequately studied. Despite the economic benefits of fracking, this expansion has brought the industrial activities of oil and gas development closer to backyards and communities, increasing the risk of human exposure to new contaminants and threats. In 2015, the number of fracking wells increased rapidly to approximately 300,000, representing 67% of United States natural gas production and 51% of United States crude oil production. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), there were approximately 23,000 fracking wells in the US in 2000.

Source from United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) and United States Geological Survey.Ĭurrently, the United States is the world’s largest producer of both natural gas and crude oil. Mapping the distribution of assessed global shale gas and shale oil basins. Lastly, within two kilometers of the fracking mining activity, the level of benzene in the air was found to be significantly correlated with the fracking activity in Colorado. Furthermore, the correlations between fracking ALE and stroke mortality in men appear to be higher than in women near the Marcellus Shale, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia, while stroke mortality among women is concentrated in the Great Plains, including Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The analysis shows that fracking ALE is moderately correlated with stroke mortality at ages over 65 in most states of fracking, in addition to cardiovascular disease and drug overdose being positively correlated with stroke mortality. The geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model is used to analyze spatiotemporal correlations of stroke mortality, fracking ALE, and nine other socioeconomic- and health-related factors. An annualized loss expectancy (ALE) model is applied to quantify the risk of fracking. We designed a methodology to study spatiotemporal correlations between the risk of fracking and stroke mortality. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking has led to a rapid growth of oil and gas production in the United States, but the impact of fracking on public health is an important but underresearched topic.

Fracture by Virginia McKevitt