Fracking linked to chemicals that cause leukemia, lymphoma, says Yale study

Hydraulic fracturing operations to get oil and gas can be linked to higher risks of leukemia and lymphoma, says a study by the Yale School of Public Health published in Science of the Total Environment. Researchers evaluated 1,177 chemicals that can be released into the air or water as a result of fracking. They found 111 potential water contaminants that included 14 known human carcinogens, 6 probable human carcinogens and 29 possible human carcinogens. Of those 49 they found that "17 had evidence of an increased risk of leukemia and/or lymphoma."

Carcinogenicity classification of chemicals related to unconventional oil and gas development

More than 80 percent of the chemicals "lacked sufficient data on cancer-causing potential, highlighting an important knowledge gap," Denise L Meyer reports for Yale. "Of the 119 compounds with sufficient data, 44 percent of the water pollutants and 60 percent of air pollutants were either confirmed or possible carcinogens. Because some chemicals could be released to both air and water, the study revealed a total of 55 unique compounds with carcinogenic potential. Furthermore, 20 chemicals had evidence of increased risk for leukemia or lymphoma specifically."

Lead author Nicole Deziel, an assistant professor at Yale, told Meyer. “Previous studies have examined the carcinogenicity of more selective lists of chemicals. To our knowledge, our analysis represents the most expansive review of carcinogenicity of hydraulic fracturing-related chemicals in the published literature.”