There is also evidence that PFAS exposure may reduce antibody responses to vaccines resistance to infectious diseases, which is especially concerning amid the ongoing COVID pandemic. PFAS have been linked to cancer, birth defects, pre-eclampsia, and other serious health effects. The most consistent findings from human epidemiology studies are increased cholesterol levels among exposed populations, with more limited findings related to: infant birth weights, effects on the immune system, cancer (for PFOA), and thyroid hormone disruption (for PFOS).” Both chemicals have caused tumors in animal studies. The EPA states that “Studies indicate that PFOA and PFOS can cause reproductive and developmental, liver and kidney, and immunological effects in laboratory animals. Learn more about fracking fluid in FracTracker’s Oil & Gas 101 Guide.
It was not known until now that PFAS were used in fracking, adding a highly potent substance to an already long list of toxic chemicals used in drilling and fracking.
They accumulate in the body over time, causing a range of serious health effects. PFAS are synthetic substances that are toxic in minuscule amounts and do not break down in the environment.
#E.P.A. APPROVED FRACKING DECADE NEW FILES FULL#
The lack of full disclosure of chemicals used in oil and gas operations raises the potential that PFAS could have been used even more extensively than records indicate, whether geographically, in other extraction techniques such as waterflooding, or in other stages of the oil and gas extraction process, such as drilling, that precede the underground injections known as fracking. The health effects of these chemicals remain difficult to assess, in part due to the secrecy that shrouds their precise identity. “Visualizing the locations of oil and gas sites that have used PFAS and/or PFAS precursors helps communities know what dangers they’re facing and take actions to protect themselves.”Ī decade ago, the US Environmental Protection Agency approved several chemicals for use in oil and gas operations, despite voicing serious misgivings over their toxicity and the potential that the chemicals could degrade into PFAS. “It’s critical that the public have access to information about potential exposure to toxic chemicals that put their health at risk,” said Barbara Gottlieb, PSR’s Environment & Health Program Director. The PSR report was highlighted in the New York Times. The report presents evidence that oil and gas companies including ExxonMobil and Chevron have used per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and/or substances that can degrade into PFAS, in hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for oil and gas in more than 1,200 wells in six U.S. The wells mapped above were identified in a report that Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), with assistance from FracTracker Alliance, released in July 2021.
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