Energy boom brings warnings about health fallout

Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 31, 2007 at midnight

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Four Coloradans told Congress Wednesday of mounting concern over the potential health risks posed by the state's natural gas boom.

Daniel Teitelbaum, a medical toxicologist affiliated with the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Colorado's Health Sciences Center, told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform there's a dearth of knowledge about the effects of various chemicals emitted at oil and gas sites — including known cancer-causing compounds.

"Despite the extraction activity under way, the toxic impact on the human and animal populations of the resource areas is unevaluated," Teitelbaum said. "There is no public health oversight. There is no database of those exposed at work or as residents."

Teitelbaum's testimony comes as Colorado and neighboring states are riding a years-long boom in natural gas drilling. Colorado has set new records for drilling the past four years, and now has more than 33,000 wells producing oil and gas.

As fossil fuel exploration has increased, activists have warned of the rise in pollutants released by industry into the air and water, and the potential threat they pose to health and the environment.

Activists have documented several dozen complaints from residents, most on the Western Slope, who say they've suffered ailments ranging from skin rashes to rare tumors because of their proximity to the gas fields.

Teitelbaum testified along with a Colorado-based scientist studying chemicals used by the industry, a sportsman worried about impacts on waterways and a Western Slope resident who said he suffered health problems related to the industry.

But it was Teitelbaum's testimony that most directly addressed an issue gaining growing attention from government regulators, including those at the Environmental Protection Agency.

He called the failure to gather health information "inexcusable." He cited previous failures to account for the risks of asbestos and mining projects in the West, and warned that mistakes are being repeated with gas development.

"When the bells are tolled for those injured, who will be willing to take the blame for these failures in preventive medicine," he said.

Ken Wonstolen, an industry lawyer with Fulbright & Jaworski said companies "recognize this has become an issue of great concern," and agreed that more data needs to be collected.

But, he cautioned, industry has not seen similar complaints from oil and gas workers who spend 12-hour shifts in the fields. And, he said, "I'm not aware at this point of any definitive study that draws a clear link between these various health complaints and exposure to oil and gas chemicals."

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