Ingrid Kelley, 69, has grown tired of the gas wells sprouting throughout North Texas. Several sit less than a mile from her house in East Arlington, and a pungent lingering scent of sulfur and something else that she can only describe as“ rotten” has settled into her neighborhood. She fears what might happen to her 4‐year‐old grandson, who lives with her and attends Mother’ s Heart Learning Center.
“ I can’ t project and trace what all is going to affect him and all those that live around there and all those that are around these sites,” she said.“ It’ s very hard to project what’ s going to happen, how many people are going to have increased cancer risk, respiratory disease, cardiac disease— all the things that go along with being premature or having congenital heart disease that affect you the rest of your life.”
Her grandson— who was born in Arlington with a congenital heart disease— has had to undergo intermittent nebulizer treatment since he began attending Mother’ s Heart in 2024, a treatment typically reserved for those who have lung complications. He had no prior respiratory complications, Kelley said. Kelley won’ t open windows at home, fearing contaminated air from nearby fracking sites will seep in.
“ We’ re like one big science experiment here,” said Kelley who, in 2016, became involved with Liveable Arlington, a grassroots organization targeting fracking in the city. She is now on the board.
Edgar Bunton, who is in his 60s, moved to his home in southwest Arlington six years ago and lives less than 600 feet from more than a dozen wells. His wife began to experience frequent and unexplained migraines. Two of his grandchildren who live near these gas wells have respiratory complications, which Bunton attributes to the wells.
“ I really got on board because of my grandbabies,” he said. The adverse health effects of hydraulic fracturing on children have been studied over the decades.
“ This is a cumulative risk issue, because this is not just one chemical at a time people are being exposed to,” said Meagan Weisner, a senior health scientist at Environmental Defense Fund and a former public health epidemiologist who has studied health impacts related to oil and gas development in Colorado.“ This is dozens of chemicals coming from more than just one site because they’ re already near other wells.”
According to Weisner, the contaminants released are dangerous to nearby residents not only during the drilling phase, which emits numerous toxic chemicals, but also after.
“ There were a lot of parents that were reporting their children were feeling ill during the preproduction phase,” Weisner said, which encompasses drilling.“ So it would not surprise me at all if these residents in Texas that are close to these 10 wells experienced adverse health impacts because of their proximity.”
Children in particular are uniquely susceptible to harm.“ We saw health impacts in children extended out to two miles from the pad,” she said.“ I don’ t know if that would be the exact same in Texas, but we saw adults had reported significant adverse symptoms within a one‐mile radius but, for children, it was within a two‐mile radius, and that does track along the lines of children are just much more vulnerable.”
The 19th reached out to the City of Arlington for comment. In an emailed response, the city only said that the drill site was approved because“ it met the 600‐foot spacing requirement from protected uses, as outlined in the City’ s Gas Drilling and Production ordinance.”
TotalEnergies did not respond to questions from The 19th.