![]() ![]() When Fox was told that Texas cancer researchers said rates didn't increase, he replied in an email that the claim of unusually high breast cancer rates was "widely reported" and said there is "more than enough evidence to warrant much deeper study."Īnother instance where fears haven't been confirmed by science is the concern that radioactivity in drilling fluids could threaten drinking water supplies.Ĭritics of fracking note the deep underground water that comes up along with gas has high levels of natural radioactivity. ![]() In fact, diet, lifestyle and access to health care also play key roles.įox responded to questions by citing a press release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that doesn't support his claim, and a newspaper story that Risser said is "not based on a careful statistical analysis of the data." Lee called the claims of an increase "a classic case of the ecological fallacy" because they falsely suggest that breast cancer is linked to just one factor. Yet Fox tells viewers in an ominous voice that "In Texas, as throughout the United States, cancer rates fell - except in one place- in the Barnett Shale." "We don't," said Chandini Portteus, Komen's vice president of research, adding that they sympathize with people's fears and concerns, but "what we do know is a little bit, and what we don't know is a lot" about breast cancer and the environment. Komen for the Cure, a major cancer advocacy group based in Dallas, said it sees no evidence of a spike, either. Fox, who lives in Brooklyn, has a new short film called "The Sky is Pink."īut researchers haven't seen a spike in breast cancer rates in the area, said Simon Craddock Lee, a professor of medical anthropology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.ĭavid Risser, an epidemiologist with the Texas Cancer Registry, said in an email that researchers checked state health data and found no evidence of an increase in the counties where the spike supposedly occurred.Īnd Susan G. Andrew Cuomo by environmental groups and by Josh Fox, the Oscar-nominated director of "Gasland," a film that criticizes the industry. The claim is used in a letter that was sent to New York's Gov. Opponents of fracking say breast cancer rates have spiked exactly where intensive drilling is taking place - and nowhere else in the state. One of the clearest examples of a misleading claim comes from north Texas, where gas drilling began in the Barnett Shale about 10 years ago. Many other shale deposits have been discovered. ![]() The Marcellus Shale covers large parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia, while the Barnett Shale is in north Texas. Shale is a gas-rich rock formation thousands of feet underground, and the gas is freed through a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in which large volumes of water, plus sand and chemicals, are injected to break the rock apart. Shale gas drilling has attracted national attention because advances in technology have unlocked billions of dollars of gas reserves, leading to a boom in production, jobs, and profits, as well as concerns about pollution and public health. And basically not using science" on either side, said Avner Vengosh, a Duke University professor studying groundwater contamination who has been praised and criticized by both sides. But some of the claims have little - or nothing- to back them.įor example, reports that breast cancer rates rose in a region with heavy gas drilling are false, researchers told The Associated Press.įears that natural radioactivity in drilling waste could contaminate drinking water aren't being confirmed by monitoring, either.Īnd concerns about air pollution from the industry often don't acknowledge that natural gas is a far cleaner burning fuel than coal. But scientists say opponents sometimes mislead the public, too.Ĭritics of fracking often raise alarms about groundwater pollution, air pollution, and cancer risks, and there are still many uncertainties. PITTSBURGH - In the debate over natural gas drilling, the companies are often the ones accused of twisting the facts. ![]()
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