New York is poised to make a decision on allowing natural gas
development and production to expand — a decision that was just
delayed because the state is still considering the health
impacts of moving forward. As state Health Commissioner Nirav
Shah has said, "The time to ensure the impacts on public health
are properly considered is before a state permits drilling." Yet
years after the shale gas boom began, scientific studies are
just now being conducted and reported. We can only hope that the
Health Department and its appointed panel of experts takes the
time necessary to thoroughly analyze this critical issue before
reaching any conclusions. New research in places where gas
drilling is already a fact of life increasingly shows
associations between industrial gas operations and facilities
and health concerns. For example, in a recent first-of-its-kind,
yearlong study, scientists from what's known as The Endocrine
Disruption Exchange measured the presence of volatile organic
chemicals —many of which have kn