"The series finally brought to light that we're not the only ones being impacted, that this is a serious problem across the board, and that the industry should be held accountable."
Kristina Marusic June 14, 2021
PITTSBURGH—It's been three months since EHN published Fractured, a groundbreaking investigation into the personal costs of fracking for western Pennsylvania families.
The investigation looked at air samples, water samples, and urine samples, and found that five families who live near oil and gas wells are exposed to higher-than-average levels of a long list of toxic chemicals used by the industry including benzene, toluene, and butylcyclohexane. Our study included children and found evidence that they were being exposed to harmful chemicals at levels up to 91 times as high as exposure levels seen in the average American.
Exposure to these chemicals is linked to a range of health effects including EHN shared the results of our air monitoring, drinking water analysis, and urine sample analysis with the families privately prior to the publication of our stories. Still, some said seeing those test results published publicly brought up many of the same feelings they experienced looking at them privately all over again.
"It was gut-wrenching," Bryan Latkanich told EHN. "It made me sick again to see the levels of exposure that my son has been subjected to. Just absolutely sick to my stomach that they would risk my child's life and my life going after profit."
Bryan and his son Ryan used to have a fracking well 400 feet from their home and had some of the highest levels of exposure among the families in the study. Ryan was nine years old at the time of the study, and one of his urine samples contained a biomarker for benzene at a level more than 28 times as high as that of the average adult cigarette smoker. Long-term exposure to high levels of benzene in the air can cause leukemia.
"To see Ryan at such high levels at his age, I don't even have words for it," Latkanich said.
Jane Worthington, whose grandchildren also had high levels of exposure to harmful chemicals, said she had mixed feelings when the stories came out.
"It was bittersweet," Worthington told EHN. "On one hand, it can be difficult having everyone know about your family's hardships so publicly. My granddaughter is a very private person, so she had a bit of a hard time with it when people at school saw the article. On the other hand, I was so glad the series finally brought to light that we're not the only ones being impacted, that this is a serious problem across the board, and that the industry should be held accountable."
respiratory and gastrointestinal problems, skin and eye irritation, organ damage, reproductive harm, and increased cancer risk. EHN's investigation was the first study to measure exposure to these types of chemicals in people living near fracking wells in Pennsylvania.
In the months since, a group of state lawmakers have called on Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to take action in response to our findings, and we've asked many other politicians to share their perspective on the study. Activist groups and readers have shared their responses to the series and let us know how they're using the data to take action.
EHN checked in with the five families who participated in the research to ask what's changed since the series came out, how they've been using the reporting to advocate for their communities, and what they hope happens next.
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