Watch in video here:
In this podcast, Heidi Leathwood, 350 Colorado’s Climate Policy Analyst interviews Dr. Lisa McKenzie – a Colorado-based scientist who has been studying the health risks of living near fracking since 2009. Her most recent study shows that there is an increased risk of childhood leukemia even up to 8 miles away from medium intensity oil and gas activity. Dr. McKenzie talks about how she got interested in studying fracking health risks, and goes into depth on her studies – how they were designed and what they show. We also speak about policy recommendations to reduce health risks.
Dr. McKenzie’s studies have looked at increased health risks including heart problems, birth defects, low birth weight and childhood leukemia, and reported symptoms including upper respiratory issues, nausea and vomiting, and nosebleeds.
Dr. McKenzie has worked with us on author-approved summaries of her studies, available in English and Spanish. The summaries don’t yet contain her most recent study on childhood leukemia, but you can read a press release about that study, or the complete study itself. Find more of her complete studies here. Read more about Dr. McKenzie in this article by Jennifer Oldham published in Capitol and Main.
Want to read more about studies in other places? Check out this compendium put together by Physicians for Social Responsibility and Concerned Health Professionals of New York.
This episode contains only part of our entire conversation about study design. We will release the full conversation on this topic in a special bonus episode, Scientific Study Design with Dr. Lisa McKenzie. You can find both of these podcast episodes in video here on the 350 Colorado YouTube channel.
Do you want to sign on to a support letter for phasing out new permits for fracking in Colorado? Visit SafeandHealthyCO.org
