If the high impact on the environment and wildlife is not enough to ban fracking — the technique used to extract natural gas and oil from underground rock — another reason, tremendously serious, has now been added. According to a new study conducted by a group of American researchers, the pollutants released during the gas extraction process cause brain problems in children who live near extraction sites.

Children's development at risk

The study, entitled Neurodevelopmental and neurological effects of chemicals associated with unconventional oil and natural gas operations and their potential effects on infants and children and published in the journal Reviews on environmental health, has thus highlighted the risks to the neurological development of children.

The effects of fracking on children

The researchers analysed substances found in the air and water in areas surrounding drilling rigs, including heavy metals, particulate matter, xylenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. According to the scientists, these substances can cause serious harm to children and newborns, ranging from memory loss to learning difficulties, dyslexia and autism, through to disorders including anxiety and schizophrenia and behavioural problems such as hyperactivity and aggression. "Early exposure to these air and water pollutants is associated with learning and neuropsychological deficits, neurodevelopmental disorders and neurological birth defects, with potentially permanent consequences for brain health," the study states.

An informed perspective

The research evaluates the long-term health impacts of fracking-related chemicals as never before. "This study is the first comprehensive look at the neurological risks posed by fracking," said Ellen Webb, a researcher at the Centro per la salute ambientale and co-author of the study. "To protect infants and children from potential negative impacts that will last a lifetime, state and federal agencies must properly regulate the siting and management of fracking. Families deserve to be protected and children deserve a healthy future."

Why children are more at risk

Children are more vulnerable to the pollutants released throughout the entire natural gas extraction process due to the greater sensitivity of their developing brains and central nervous systems. Prolonged exposure to these substances, whose true effects are still poorly understood, could however also compromise the health of adults.

How to protect children

The authors of the study propose a number of solutions to try to minimise the negative effects of fracking. First of all, buildings — particularly schools and hospitals — should be located at least 1.6 kilometres from drilling sites. They also consider constant monitoring of health effects following exposure to the pollutants in question to be necessary.