ISTOCK, CTA88New research has uncovered a link between infants’ birth weight and their mothers’ proximity to hydraulic fracturing sites in Pennsylvania. The study was published Wednesday (December 13) in Science Advances.
This finding is based on an analysis of more than 1.1 million birth records in Pennsylvania between 2004 and 2013. From these, the researchers noted the mothers’ residences as well as the health and weight of their infants at birth. They then examined whether these measures were associated with proximities to fracking sites, using data from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on the locations of those sites throughout the state.
After controlling for race, marital status, and mother’s education, they found that mothers who lived within one kilometer of active sites had a 25 percent greater chance of giving birth to underweight babies, compared to mothers who lived three or more kilometers away. Beyond two miles, the researchers observed no negative effect on newborn ...
