Concerned Health Professionals of New York agree with the Times Union editorial board urging the Legislature to pass a moratorium on fracking ("Yes, a drilling moratorium," March 26).
Completed health studies, both in the peer-reviewed literature and those initiated or reported by grass-roots groups and the media, indicate significant negative health impacts occur near gas exploration and production activities. Emerging health studies, including the Geisinger Health System and University of Pennsylvania studies, will give a clearer picture over the next few years. Most importantly, people already have been impacted in states where gas extraction using high-volume hydraulic fracturing is permitted. We must carefully study these cases and determine pathways of exposure and contamination — scientific information that is fundamental to making informed decisions about the process.
As we review the studies already completed and speak with impacted people, we are increasingly aware there are stressors on health that cannot be mitigated.
For these reasons, a moratorium on permitting gas extraction using high-volume hydraulic fracturing must be maintained. The Times Union got it right. Only after we gain a clear understanding of why people become ill near gas development activities can a decision be made whether to permit this activity. We cannot gamble with New Yorkers' health.
Dr. Larysa Dyrszka
founding member of Concerned Health Professionals of New York,
White Lake