TOXMAP: Learn about toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing & Update [Wyoming water wells very likely contaminated by fracking]
From the US National Library of Medicine Press Release of 30 November 2011
Hydraulic fracturing (also called hydrofracking or fracking) is a process in which millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to break apart rock in order to release oil and natural gas.
The US EPA Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program requires facilities in certain industries that manufacture, process, or use significant amounts of toxic chemicals, to report annually on their releases of these chemicals. Hydraulic fracturing is currently not a TRI-covered industry and so is not represented in TOXMAP.
EPA scientists are conducting a study of hydraulic fracturing to better understand any potential impacts on drinking water and groundwater. Congress has released a report on hydraulic fracturing (PDF, 156 KB) that lists 29 toxic chemicals used in fracturing (see Table 3 of this report). Click on the links in the table below for additional information on these chemicals:
Related Resources
- Fracking & the Drinking Water of 1/5 of the United States (-element studio)includes this graphic
- What is hydraulic frackturing (graphic)
- Anatomy of a gas well (graphic)
RRelated articles
- Wyoming Water Contaminated By “Fracking” (naturalhistorywanderings.com)
- Feds Link Water Contamination to Fracking for the First Time (ProPublica- Journalism in the Public Interest)
- Fracking Compounds Found in Drinking Water (spiritandanimal.wordpress.com)
- Fracking pollutants detected in water wells (smh.com.au)
- EPA Finds Hydrofracking Chemicals Contaminate Drinking Water (thinkprogress.org)
- EPA: Wyoming well water tainted with chemicals consistent with fracking (alternet.org)
- Shale gas drilling’s dirty secret is out | Josh Fox (guardian.co.uk)
- Fracking likely linked to groundwater pollution in U.S. (cbc.ca)
- EPA Says Fracking ‘Likely’ Polluted Groundwater (ecocentric.blogs.time.com)
- Fracking (bell-book-candle.com)
- In 2011 ‘fracking’ , according to ProPublica, became a household word (iflizwerequeen.com)
- EPA to rig ‘independent’ review of fracking report (junkscience.com)
- A Fracked Landscape in Wyoming (dirt.asla.org)
- Study links fracking to health risks (smh.com.au)
Fragrant chemicals may pose threat to humans, environment | Great Lakes Echo
Fragrant chemicals may pose threat to humans, environment | Great Lakes Echo.
From the 12 October 2011 Great Lakes Echo Blog
By Sara Matthews-Kaye
Editor’s note: Synthetic musk is one of the pollutants of emerging concern to be discussed Oct. 11-14 in Detroit at the 2011 Great Lakes Week. Detroit Public Television is providing ongoing coverage of Great Lakes Week at greatlakesnow.org
Some scientists worry that the chemicals that make lotion, soap, trash bags and a myriad of household products smell good are an emerging class of pollutants that threaten environmental and human health.
There is “supporting evidence that more study and research need to be done,” said Antonette Arvai, a physical scientist with the International Joint Commission, a U.S. and Canadian agency that will discuss newly emerging pollutants at its biennial meeting in Detroit this week.
Lotions, soaps and other pleasant smelling cosmetics may contain harmful chemicals. Photo: Normann Copenhagen (Flickr)
Use of fragrant chemicals in the United States has doubled since 1990. Arecent study by the commission identifies synthetic musk fragrance, used in a great number of personal care and cleaning products, as a chemical of emerging concern.
“When musk is applied to the structure of a cell wall, more toxins can pass through it,” Arvai said. The commission has recommended that scientists and regulatory authorities in both countries study the health risk of synthetic musks.
Concerns go beyond human health. Synthetic musk accumulates in aquatic organisms over time. A2009 studyinEnvironmental Toxicology and Chemistryreported that two musk fragrances, Galaxolide and Tonalide, were found in every sample of fish taken from the North Shore Channel in Chicago.
A large portion of world-wide musk production is Galaxolide and Tonalide.
Related articles
- 5 chemical threats to the Great Lakes (cbc.ca)
- Musk in Fragrance : Salt and Butter of Perfumery (boisdejasmin.typepad.com)
About
This blog presents a sampling of health and medical news and resources for all. Selected articles and resources will hopefully be of general interest but will also encourage further reading through posted references and other links. Currently I am focusing on public health, basic and applied research and very broadly on disease and healthy lifestyle topics.
Several times a month I will post items on international and global health issues. My Peace Corps Liberia experience (1980-81) has formed me as a global citizen in many ways and has challenged me to think of health and other topics in a more holistic manner. (For those wishing to see pictures of a 2009 Friends of Liberia service trip to this West African country, please visit www.fol.org. My photo album is included).
Do you have an informational question in the health/medical area?
Email me at jmflahiff@yahoo.com
I will reply within 48 hours.
This blog is a companion site to my Health and Medical News and Resources Web site with…
- Informational sites and guides
- Links to help from others (as health care providers and support groups)
- Interactive tools (as health calculators and apps)
- Select related news sites and blogs
My professional work experience and education includes over 10 years experience as a medical librarian and a Master’s in Library Science. In my most recent position I enjoyed contributing to our library’s blog, performing in depth literature searches, and collaborating with faculty, staff, students, and the general public.
While I will never be be able to keep up with the universe of current health/medical news,
I subscribe to the following to glean entries for this blog
- Medical News Today, a MediLexicon International daily online health news product
- MedLib-L ,a medical librarian discussion list
- Science Daily – Your source for the latest research news
- A Consumer and Patient Health (CAPHIS) discussion list , by a section of the Medical Library Association (MLA)
- MedlinePlus email updates from the US National Institutes of Health
- Public Health Partners from the National Library of Medicine
- US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) electronic newsletter with updates on the agency’s efforts to “improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans”
- Krafty (Medical)Librarian,” a collection of writings from Michelle Kraft on items of interest to medical librarians. She tends to write on technology and medical libraries but she also writes about things in general on librarianship, medicine and health”
- Research Buzz, “news about search engines, digital archives, online museums, databases, and other Internet information collections since 1998”
- Library Journal – Breaking News
- librarian.net by librarian consultant Jessamyn West
- The Cornflower, the blog of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Greater Midwest Region
- DocuTicker with “abstracts from ‘grey literature’: PDF reports published by government agencies, think tanks, NGOs, research institutes and other public interest groups”
- PubMed New and Noteworthy, updates from the largest indexer of biomedical journals in the world
- Free Government Information, a “place for initiating dialogue and building consensus among the various players (libraries, government agencies, non-profit organizations, researchers, journalists, etc.) who have a stake in the preservation of and perpetual free access to government information”
- Scout Report, a “weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators”
- Latest from Brookings Institute, independent research reports on social and political issues
- KevinMD.com -“Social Media’s leading physician voice”
- EurekAlert-Medicine and Health
