Fracking linked to endocrine-disrupting exposure

The controversial oil and natural gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, uses many chemicals that can disrupt the body’s hormones, according to new research.

“More than 700 chemicals are used in the fracking process, and many of them disturb hormone function. With fracking on the rise, populations may face greater health risks from increased endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure,” said senior author Susan C. Nagel, PhD, of the University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia.

Previously, the Endocrine Society has presented evidence that endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) exposure has effects on male and female reproduction, prostate cancer, neuroendocrinology, breast development and cancer, thyroid, metabolism and obesity, and cardiovascular endocrinology.

For the study, which was published online in Endocrinology(Jan. 1, 2014), the authors examined 12 suspected or known endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) used in natural gas operations and measured their ability to mimic or block the effect of the body’s male and female reproductive hormones. To gauge endocrine-disrupting activity from natural gas operations, the authors took surface and ground water samples from sites with drilling spills or accidents in a drilling-dense area of Garfield County, CO-an area with more than 10,000 active natural gas wells-and from drilling-sparse control sites without spills in Garfield County as well as Boone County, MO.

The water samples from drilling sites had higher levels of EDC activity that could interfere with the body’s response to androgens as well as estrogen. Drilling site water samples had moderate to high levels of EDC activity, and samples from the Colorado River-the drainage basin for the natural gas drilling sites-had moderate levels. In comparison, little activity was measured in the water samples from the sites with little drilling.

“Fracking is exempt from federal regulations to protect water quality, but spills associated with natural gas drilling can contaminate surface, ground, and drinking water. We found more endocrine-disrupting activity in the water close to drilling locations that had experienced spills than at control sites. This could raise the risk of reproductive, metabolic, neurological, and other diseases, especially in children who are exposed to EDCs,” Dr. Nagel said.

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