May 26, 2019 2 min read

In response to the news story, “Air-quality study finds no health risks from natural gas development,” published May 22, the article does not mention the outlandish rates of exotic childhood cancers that have cropped up in Fort Cherry and other area school districts since 2008.

I attended Bentworth, and my parents live 500 feet from a well pad. Neither does the article mention that Gradient Corp, the company that performed the study for Range, has produced similar studies for Halliburton and other drilling companies, all of which show that hydrofracturing does not cause any pollution-related health impacts. Given this context, it seems that Range, having noticed the upswing in cancer diagnoses among our youth, paid Gradient to produce a study that could stave off potential lawsuits and regulatory measures.

Maybe the gas industry can do things right when they know that someone is watching, but when the industry is watching itself, as it is in this Fort Cherry study, the results will always line up with its desired results. The solution is a severance tax that would amply fund a truly independent state regulatory body, perhaps in conjunction with Ohio and West Virginia.

Jason Molesky

Lawrenceville, N.J.