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DENVER – A
study
Researchers at the University of Colorado, funded by the American Heart Association and published Wednesday in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, revealed that babies born to mothers living in areas with strong oil and gas development are more likely to have conbad heart defects those born outside high density areas.
L & # 39; study
Lisa McKenzie, PhD, MPS; William Allshouse, PhD, BSPH; and Stephen Daniels, MD, PhD, were published Wednesday in the journal Environment International. The study is based on
previous studies
completed
by McKenzie
who examined the links between oil and gas development in Colorado and health issues among children and people living nearby.
The researchers examined more than 3,300 babies born in Colorado between 2005 and 2011, born of several different types of conbad heart defects and compared them with the intensity of activity and development of oil wells and gas at home. the mother of the baby.
Information from the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment and the Colorado Oil and Gas Information System was used to compile the case studies.
The researchers estimated the intensity of oil and gas activity in the region of the mother – including the size of the well platforms, the number of reservoirs involved and other features – between three months before conception and the second month of pregnancy.
"Higher intensity means that there are probably more wells around the mother in this type of development phase. We also know that hazardous air pollutants may differ slightly between oil and gas production, "McKenzie said in an interview Thursday. "We know from other studies that when the wells are completed, the risk of emitting hazardous air pollutants is higher."
They found that mothers living in high-intensity areas were between 40% and 70% more likely to have children with various types of conbad heart disease, which researchers say is the most common conbad anomaly in the country and one of the leading causes of death. infants.
But the study had limitations, the researchers said. McKenzie said researchers did not take into account traffic pollution or small sources of pollution such as gas stations. But they took into account the major sources of pollution listed by the EPA.
She also said that the study looked at sites within 500 feet of the homes as well as air quality measurements in that range – something special.
a magazine of the state
did not do it, she said.
"We do the best scientific research we can do about it," McKenzie told Denver7.
She said that research is important as a
The oil and gas industry is growing in Colorado
and as urban growth increasingly encroaches on land traditionally used for industry activities.
The industry has
worked to discredit McKenzie's studies
in the past, misleading callers. A spokesman for Energy In Depth said Thursday that the latest study did not include other sources of pollution.
John Putnam, director of environmental programs of the CDPHE, said in a statement that the department had not fully reviewed the study, but said the topic was "extremely important" and that the CDPHE was considering strengthening the protection of health and the environment.
local oil and gas control law
is
implemented.
"We can not speak specifically to this study because we have not had the opportunity to read it since the publication of its publication today." It is an extremely important topic for the ministry, "said Putnam. "In the oil and gas industry, laws continue to change and evolve, and it is important that our health research continues and that we look at the current landscape data. At present, we are pursuing even stronger strategies to reduce the health and environmental impacts of the oil and gas industry through: the implementation of new oil and gas laws ".
McKenzie and the researchers say
their study
deals with "serious problems" involving the health of children and their long-term effects on health.
"My message to pregnant women living near these sites is that they might want to discuss these results with their doctor," she said.
McKenzie and the researchers concluded that there was a positive badociation between a mother's proximity to oil and gas sites and the likelihood of their children having conbad heart disease, but did not establish a causal link. They wrote that the study was another important piece of research, but that it needed more.
"This study provides further evidence of a positive badociation between maternal proximity and activities at the G & G well site and several types of conbad heart disease, particularly in rural and high-density areas. sources of air pollution not badociated with G & G's activities ", the researchers concluded.
"At least 17 million people in the United States and 6% of Colorado's population live near an oil well and active deposit site," they added. "Together, our results and the increasing development of well and borehole sites underscore the importance of continuing to conduct extensive and rigorous research into the health consequences of early exposure to oil and gas operations. gas.
The president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, Dan Haley, responded to the study by saying that it was based on old data and that McKenzie's studies, including this one, were misleading.
"After thousands of air samples, many of which were collected near oil and gas operations, none exceed federal or state protection guidelines," he said. Haley in a statement. "Dr. McKenzie's studies have been described as "misleading" in the past, and this seems to be part of the course. "
But McKenzie said peer-reviewed research should continue.
"This could have an impact on a large population in Colorado and this population is growing," she said. "More and more evidence, more and more studies are underway. We still see these effects around oil and gas. "
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