ISLAMABAD, July 16 (online): Research have found that exposure to flaring the burning off of excess natural gas at oil and gas production sites is associated with 50% higher odds of preterm birth, compared with no exposure.
“study finds that living near flaring is harmful to pregnant women and babies, “We have seen a sharp increase in flaring in Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale, and this is the first study to explore the potential health impacts.”
The study examined 23,487 live births to women living within the Eagle Ford region between 2012 to 2015. The Eagle Ford Shale geological formation, measuring 50 miles wide and 400 miles long, is one of the most productive oil and gas regions in the country due to hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” the research team estimated the area was subject to more than 43,000 flaring events between 2012 and 2016.
Flares, which can burn for weeks at a time, have been shown to release chemicals such as benzene as well as fine particle pollution, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, heavy metals and black carbon. Several of these combustion-related pollutants have been associated with a higher risk of preterm birth and reduced birth weight in other contexts.
Of the births analyzed by researchers, 10.6% were preterm, occurring before the 37th completed week of pregnancy. Preterm birth is associated with complications such as immature lungs, difficulty regulating body temperature, poor feeding and slow weight gain.
The researchers used satellite observations to measure flaring activity because systemic reporting of flaring is lacking. They adjusted for other known risk factors for preterm birth in their analysis, including age, smoking, insurance status and access to prenatal care, and concluded that exposure to a high amount of flaring was associated with 50% higher odds of preterm birth compared with no exposure.
A high amount of flaring was defined as 10 or more nightly flare events within three miles of the pregnant woman’s home.
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