Looking for answers: Residents await results of health studies

More than 100 concerned citizens attended a public meeting, held both in person in Canonsburg and virtually Wednesday, to get an update on a pair of studies being conducted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and funded by the state Department of Health that explore the impacts of the shale gas industry on health.
One of the PA Health and Environmental Studies is looking to determine if there are any links between fracking and the high number of childhood cancers, including Ewing sarcoma, in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Both the University of Pittsburgh and the DOH, who originally planned to participate in the meeting to provide information on the studies’ progress, announced last week they were pulling out, so no researchers who are part of the studies attended.
The meeting was hosted by Center for Coalfield Justice, Environmental Health Project, Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, Mountain Watershed Association, and FracTracker Alliance.
Representatives from those organizations detailed the two studies – one examining whether there is a relationship between hydraulic fracking and childhood cancers, and the other exploring possible links between hydraulic fracturing and an increased risk of asthma and poor birth outcomes.
The study encompasses an eight-county region, including Washington County, county, where fracking is among the most commonplace in the state.
“Nobody should be surprised when children living near fracked gas wells, pipelines, compressor stations, gas processing facilities, and fracking waste landfills start getting sick,” said Dr. Ned Ketyer, president of Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania. “Dozens of studies already show serious harm to people living nearby, and children appear to bear the highest burden.”
Among those who attended the meeting in person was Christine Barton, whose son, Mitch, remains cancer-free today following a year-long battle with Ewing sarcoma after he was diagnosed in December 2018 at age 21.
Mitch is one of at least six teens and young adults in the Canon-McMillan School District who have been struck with the rare cancer, including his former baseball teammate, Luke Blanock, who succumbed to the disease in 2016.
Christine Barton said she was pleased with the turnout and the information provided at the forum, but was disappointed that Pitt and DOH representatives didn’t attend.
“In my opinion, they are conducting the study, so they should be the ones answering people’s questions in person,” said Barton. “We are anxiously awaiting the results.”
Study results are not yet available, but are expected to be released to the DOH on Nov. 15.
The studies were spurred in 2019 after families in Southwestern Pennsylvania whose loved ones had been diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma and other rare forms of cancer pleaded with the Department of Health to investigate whether fracking played a role in the unusually high number of cancer cases.
Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration allocated $3 million for the studies, which have been ongoing for two years.
Maureen Lichtveld, the dean of Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health, said the school decided not to attend because they don’t yet have data to share.
“As the meeting date approached and plans were solidified, it became apparent that it would be premature to participate in a public forum regarding this research, which has recently closed to recruitment and entered the data analysis phase,” said Lichtveld.
Heaven Senksy, organizing director of the Center for Coalfield Justice and former External Advisor Board co-chair for the studies, said the meeting was held “to bring as much transparency as possible to our communities.”
“When our government and academic institutions fail to be accountable to our communities, together as neighbors we can get answers and protect our health.”
Marcellus Shale Coalition President David Callahan responded to the meeting in a statement, saying, “As an industry composed of scientists, engineers, and conservationists, the men and women of Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry are focused on advancing the health and safety of employees, residents, and the environment as we produce and transport the energy that facilitates modern life. We support rigorous and objective research, and we trust respected medical experts who have confirmed no known cause of Ewing sarcoma.”
Erica Jackson, a former member of an external advisory board that worked with the studies’ researchers and manager of community outreach and support for FracTracker Alliance, encouraged members of the community to visit the studies’ website and ask questions of the research team, “so that everyone can best understand the results once they are published.”
Community members can ask questions or comment about the study by contacting the University of Pittsburgh at paenv@pitt.edu or the Pennsylvania Department of Health at https://tinyurl.com/yn7tkes7.