Hydraulic Fracturing and Radon Impact on Public Health in Pennsylvania

This book addresses the research into current hydraulic fracturing efforts occurring in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the evaluation of the data gathered, and the attempts to identify the environmental impact and affect on public health. Methane gas hydraulic fracturing in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale can provide a large economic benefit to the state, but the process can also bring health dangers and environmental changes that affect the human and wildlife populations. Hydraulic fracturing is a well stimulation technique that is used to maximize the production of oil and gas in “unconventional” reservoirs such as shale, coal-beds, and tight sands. Specially engineered fluids with chemical additives are pumped into the well under high pressure to create and hold open fractures in the target formation. The process increases the flow of natural gas (or oil) to the wellbore for recovery. The chemicals used, the waste created, the disposal requirements, and “new” occurring illness in animals and humans in target areas are evaluated in this work.