Colorado Health Department Investigating Spike in Fetal Abnormalities in Heavily-Drilled Garfield County

authordefault
on
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has called in an epidemiologistย to investigate a recent spike in fetal abnormalities in Garfield County on Colorado’s western slope. Stacey Gavrell, Director of Community Relations for Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, said area prenatal care providers reported the increase in fetal abnormalities to the hospital, which then notified CDPHE. So far neither the hospital nor the state have released information about the numbers of cases reported, over what span of time, or the amount of the increase.ย 
ย 
Gavrell said it is too early to speculate on the causes of the spike in abnormalities.ย 
ย 
The report comes shortly after the February, 2014 publication in Environmental Health Perspectives of a study thatย found an associationย between the density of natural gas wells within a ten mile radius of expectant mothers’ homes and the prevalence of fetal anomalies such as low birth weight and congenital heart defects in their infants.
ย 
The studyย examined a large cohort of babies over an extended period of time in rural Colorado, and specifically controlled for confounding factors that also emit air pollution, including traffic or other heavy industries. The abnormalities in infants in the study are associated with exposure to air pollutants like those emitted from natural gas wells, including volatile organic compounds and nitrogen dioxide.ย 
ย 
A map of current drilling activityย in the Garfield County area shows the number and concentration of active wells along the busy I-70 corridor between Glenwood Springs and Rifle, one of the areas of interest in CDPHE‘s investigation. ย 

Photo credit:ย Sleeping infantย viaย Shutterstock

authordefault
Admin's short bio, lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Voluptate maxime officiis sed aliquam! Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit.

Related Posts

Analysis
on

New research reveals how Dentsu, Havas, Interpublic Group, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, and WPP cast themselves as climate champions.

New research reveals how Dentsu, Havas, Interpublic Group, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, and WPP cast themselves as climate champions.
on

The groups have filed an OECD complaint against the worldโ€™s largest advertising and PR firm, saying its work enables major polluters to continue harming environmental and human health.

The groups have filed an OECD complaint against the worldโ€™s largest advertising and PR firm, saying its work enables major polluters to continue harming environmental and human health.
on

Critics say support for TMX means struggling Canadians end up paying the price as global fossil fuel companies โ€œreap the rewards.โ€

Critics say support for TMX means struggling Canadians end up paying the price as global fossil fuel companies โ€œreap the rewards.โ€
on

His push for more gas development alarms climate change experts amid growing evidence of declining global LNG demand.

His push for more gas development alarms climate change experts amid growing evidence of declining global LNG demand.