High-volume hydraulic fracturing – also known as “fracking” – allows access to large amounts of natural gas trapped in shale deposits. Natural gas wells using this method are increasingly common in the United States. For example, the number of these types of wells in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale rose from 44 in 2007 to more than 2,800 in 2010, the researchers pointed out.
In this study, University of Pittsburgh researchers analyzed the birth records of more than 15,400 babies born in Pennsylvania’s Washington, Westmoreland and Butler counties between 2007 and 2010.
Women who lived close to a high number of natural gas fracking sites were 34% more likely to have babies who were “small for gestational age” than mothers who did not live close to a large number of such wells, the study found.
The findings held true even after the researchers accounted for numerous factors that could affect a newborn’s weight, including whether a mother smoked, her race, age, education, prenatal care and whether she’d had previous children, as well as the baby’s gender.
The study, published online June 3 in the journal PLOS One, does not prove that living close to a high concentration of natural gas fracking sites caused lower birth weights, but does show the need for further investigation, the researchers said.
