Entries by FracTracker Alliance

Upcoming WV FracTracker Training!

On behalf of the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities (CHEC) of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, you are invited to participate in a FracTracker training on Monday, October 25, 2010 in Morgantown, WV. During this training, CHEC will introduce participants to FracTracker, a combination […]

Is a Severance Tax in the Future for Pennsylvania?

By Samantha Malone, MPH, CPH – Communications Specialist and DrPH student, Center for Healthy Environments & Communities (CHEC), University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Last week the PA House of Representatives voted in support of a severance tax of 39 cents for every thousand cubic feet of natural gas extracted. This proposed bill now […]

Public Health Conference on the Health Effects of Shale Gas Extraction – November 19, 2010

The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health cordially invites you to the following exclusive conference: HEALTH EFFECTS OF SHALE GAS EXTRACTION: WHAT IS KNOWN AND WHAT CAN WE PREDICT? This free conference will explore the science and methodological approaches behind understanding environmental health impacts associated with increasing development of natural gas extraction from […]

Water Contamination Studies

By Samantha Malone, MPH, CPH – CHEC Communications Specialist and BCHS Doctoral Student, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health Water Contamination Potential When the ‘new’ methods for gas extraction first appeared on the horizon in Pennsylvania, many citizens expressed concern that their water could become contaminated by the hydraulic fracturing process used to obtain […]

Do the natural gas industry’s surface water withdrawals pose a health risk?

By Kyle Ferrar, MPH – EOH Doctoral Student, University of Pittsburgh GSPH Wastewater discharges are regulated through national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permits, and are based on the concept “the solution to pollution is dilution.” However, what happens when the diluting capacity of a river diminishes? If the natural gas industry will be producing […]

What will happen to our farms?

Natural gas drilling site in Susquehanna County taken by Garth Lenz. View other RAVE photos in the online gallery. By Samantha Malone, MPH, CPH As Dr. Volz and I presented as part of Geneva College’s Colloquia Series today – right in the heart of PA’s Marcellus Shale play – I found myself brainstorming on what issues […]

What Do We Need to Know? Public Health Presentations at GSPH

On Friday, August 27th, CHEC conducted a symposium at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) on the potential public health concerns associated with gas extraction activities, especially those occurring in the Marcellus Shale region. The panel discussion addressed the following topics: Potential human exposure pathways to water and air contaminants, Behavioral […]

Opportunities to Make Your Voice Heard about Forced Pooling

Penn Future’s “Keep the Promise” tour will provide opportunities for people to speak up about/ask questions about the coupling of a severance tax to forced pooling. A severance tax would mean that the gas coming out of drilled Marcellus Shale wells would be subject to a particular tax (to benefit the PA’s budget and possibly […]