Thread by @ssteingraber1

I’m not the first to tweet about the new Colorado study that finds a link between #fracking and cardiac birth defects bc I wanted to time to read the whole paper carefully.

It’s a strong study. THREAD

Link to full paper is in this media report:
thedenverchannel.com/news/local-new…

2/ First of all, the link makes sense. We know that these specific birth defects, which affect the valves and great arteries of the heart, are associated w prenatal exposure to benzene/diesel exhaust, and we know that benzene/diesel exhaust are found in air near fracking sites.

3/ Previous studies have documented elevated levels of benzene in the urine of workers on fracking we’ll pads and identified the metabolic byproduct of benzene exposure in urine or pregnant women living near them.

4/ This new study corroborates and extends the findings of previous research. Earlier studies from CO and OK also found connections between congenital heart defects and proximity of pregnant moms’ residence to fracking sites but did not take into account stage of pregnancy...

5/ ...or what was happening at the wellpad during that window of time. This matters bc the cardiac structures form very early in development—during the first two months. If fracking is literally wrecking the hearts of unborn babies it has to do so in early pregnancy.

6/ That’s exactly what this study found with a high degree of granularity. Looking at where mothers lived immediately before pregnancy and during the first critical weeks after conception and what was going on at nearby fracking wells, researchers found startling patterns.

7/ Mothers living near highly intensive fracking operations were 40 percent more likely to have a baby with certain kinds of heart defects and 70 percent more likely to have a baby with other kinds of heart defects when compared with mothers who were motnso exposed.

8/ Lead author Lisa McKenzie at the CU School of Public Health is a longtime target of the oil and gas industry, which has been trying to discredit her for years, so this is surely a let-the-games-begin moment for her. Letters to editors across the land would be welcome. FIN

Oh for an edit button.

Part 7 should say “not so exposed.”