Pennsylvania to spend $3 million studying if there is link between fracking, cancer
Pennsylvania will spend $3 million to study the potential health effects of the natural gas industry.
The study will focus on southwestern Pennsylvania, where more than two dozen people have contracted Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer.
The victims’ families have been pushing for a study.
“The statistics are 250 cases per year in the United States and we have 28 cases centered around the Pittsburgh area in the last 10 years," said Christine Barton, of North Strabane, Washington County.
Her 22-year-old son, Mitch Barton, has Ewing’s sarcoma.
The Bartons, like many other victims' families, live near a gas drilling operation. They do not believe that's a coincidence.
“We just want an environmental investigation. Could there be something in the air, the water, the soil, that's causing these rare cancers?” Christine Barton said.
Wolf said he does not believe there is an environmental link between fracking and cancer, but he does want the state to thoroughly investigate.
“I'm a strong supporter of the gas industry but I'm also a strong supporter of making sure we do it right, and this kind of study is really going to be important in making sure we do it right,” Wolf said.
In response to the governor’s announcement, the Marcellus Shale Coalition, the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association and Associated Petroleum Industries of Pennsylvania issued a joint statement that says, in part, “We appreciate and share Governor Wolf's commitment to determining the cause of these complicated and heartbreaking health issues ... We are committed to working closely with the administration on this research ... and encourage state officials to neutrally, fairly and without bias evaluate all potential factors."