A new study finds a link between fracking wells and asthma attacks. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health analyzed health records from 2005 through 2012 from the Geisinger Health System, which covers 40 counties in north and central Pennsylvania.
They identified more than 35,000 asthma patients, looking at the severity of their attacks, and where they lived in relationship to fracking wells. Researchers considered factors such as the location, size, number, and total depth and gas production of the wells.
They concluded that people with asthma who live near bigger or larger numbers of active natural gas wells operated by the fracking industry in Pennsylvania are 1.5 to 4 times likelier to have asthma attacks than those who live farther away.