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University of Pittsburgh receives contract to study health effects of fracking

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The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health will receive a $2.5 million contract from the state of Pennsylvania to study the health effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

“Pennsylvania is a healthy, vibrant place for all who call it home,” Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday. “We look forward to the invaluable research that will be done by the University of Pittsburgh and the information it will provide for the commonwealth.”

In recent years, dozens of cases of Ewing sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, and other childhood and young adult cancers have been identified in Washington, Greene, Fayette and Westmoreland counties, where shale gas sites are operating.

The state Department of Health last year declined to designate Washington County, where six Ewing sarcoma cases had occurred in the Canon-McMillan School District area, as a cancer cluster.

Residents were dissatisfied with those results, which only included three of the six cases in the investigation.

In March of 2020, the Department of Health published a four-county report on the number childhood cancer cases.

“We have heard the concerns from families and community members impacted by cancer and other health issues in the southwestern part of the state, and we are dedicated to taking the proper steps to keep our residents healthy,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said.

Pitt Public Health will be conducting two observational epidemiological studies focusing on known or suspected health effects of hydraulic fracturing.

One study will be led by Dr. Evelyn Talbott, professor of epidemiology at Pitt Public Health and director of the Environmental Epidemiology section, who has over 35 years of experience conducting cancer and other health effects studies in Southwestern Pennsylvania and abroad.

She will investigate the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and the development of childhood cancers in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

“I grew up in Washington County, and one of my first epidemiology investigations at Pitt involved a health study of thyroid cancer among those living near a uranium mill tailings site,” Talbott said. “So this investigation holds both personal and professional significance to me. I am committed to community inclusion and openness as we go forward in our endeavor to learn the facts.”

The other study, led by the director of Pitt Public Health’s Center for Occupational Biostatistics and Epidemiology and Research Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Dr. Jeanine Buchanich, will aim to replicate earlier studies on acute conditions, such as asthma and birth outcomes, using data from Southwestern Pennsylvania.

“As a lifelong resident of Southwestern Pennsylvania with much of my research focusing on environmental health in the area, I am personally and professionally committed to a systematic investigation of the health effects of hydraulic fracturing,” said Buchanich.

The goal is for both studies to be completed within the next two years.

The Environmental Health Project said in a statement it was pleased the study will be conducted. The organization believes the studies “will show results similar to dozens of other studies already completed – that shale gas development raises the risk of health impacts in people who live nearby.”

David Spigelmyer, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, the state’s leading natural gas trade association, said in a statement that, “the protection of health and safety – for the communities where we’re privileged to operate and for our dedicated workforce – is our industry’s top commitment and focus every single day.”

As part of the contract, Pitt Public Health will be producing public-facing summaries on a quarterly basis to keep the public updated about the research. It also will work to provide a study progress update at the end of the first year. At the conclusion of the project, a public meeting will provide information on the final outcomes of the research.

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