Aug 2, 2016 2 min read

It comes as little surprise that living near oil and gas development increases asthma attacks, as pointed out in a recent article in the Observer-Reporter.

The recent Fossil Fumes report released by the Clean Air Task Force documents that Pennsylvania has 1.5 million residents living within a half-mile of oil and gas facilities. The report calls this zone the threat radius. Along with methane, the main component of natural gas, facilities often release other air pollutants that can harm our health, including formaldehyde, benzene, acetaldehyde, and ethyl benzene. These toxins can cause cancer, respiratory symptoms, anemia, brain damage, birth defects, eye irritation, and blood and neurological disorders.

I have four children, and over the past nine years, there have been 10 wells placed in a radius of 1-to-3 miles from our home, 28 wells within 9 miles, with three new well sites being constructed since June. On each of these well pads are anywhere from eight to 10 wells, all having to be fracked, along with two compressor stations, three transmission lines, holding tanks and holding residual waste ponds.

We continue to demand action against the oil and gas industry, and we want to see better regulations. There are no federal standards controlling methane already being emitted from existing oil and gas facilities. Gov. Tom Wolf has promised to address these issues, and continues to kick the can down the road. People living with oil and gas pollution in the United States need help, and we call on the president to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to create new standards to cut methane and associated toxic air pollution from the 1.2 million existing oil and gas facilities around the United States.

Lois Bjornson

Scenery Hill