A study by the Colorado School of Public Health has found that living less than 150 metres from a well results in a cancer risk eight times higher than the maximum risk threshold indicated by the EPA.
Living near a gas or oil extraction facility increases the risk of developing cancer. This is the finding of a study published in Environmental Science & Technology by the American Chemical Society, conducted by a group of researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health, within the Boulder County Public Health programme, NASA, and the universities of Colorado and Irvine in California.
The research analysed atmospheric pollutants whose concentrations exceeded the levels deemed acceptable by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), including carcinogens such as benzene. Measurements were taken along the Northern Front Range of Colorado, an area that is home to the largest population centres and rich in extraction wells that use primarily the technique of fracking.
The researchers found that the concentrations of such pollutants increased in the vicinity of a gas or oil extraction facility and that "the lifetime cancer risk for those living less than 150 metres from a well is eight times higher than the maximum risk threshold defined by the EPA."
The study analysed the emission of hydrocarbons, other than methane, produced by oil or gas extraction activities, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes. The results revealed that "mean benzene concentrations were 41 times higher in samples collected within 150 metres of an extraction facility compared with those collected more than 1,600 metres away (one mile)," explained Lisa McKenzie, one of the study's authors.
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Populations living within 150 metres of an oil and gas facility show higher acute risk indices for neurological and haematological effects because they are exposed to the inhalation of benzene and carcinogenic pollutants. According to the researchers, while the cancer risk threshold indicated by the EPA is 1 in 10,000, for populations living within 150 metres of a facility it is 8.3 in 10,000.
The probability of developing cancer is based on the study assumption of exposure to emissions over a period of 30 years. It should be borne in mind that those living in these areas are not exposed to just one well, but to multiple extraction facilities. "Our findings suggest that current Colorado regulations may not be protecting people," Lisa McKenzie stated.
Colorado, long known as a skiing destination for its mountains, is today one of the states with the highest oil and gas extraction activity, thanks to the use of the fracking technique. More than 60,000 wells are active in the state, according to data from FracTracker Alliance.
Colorado law allows new extraction facilities to be built 150 metres from homes and 300 metres from facilities such as schools and hospitals, and this poses a threat to the health of the population, which has already recorded an increase in childhood leukaemia cases.