Tag Archives: Public Health

Air Quality, Environmental Impacts, Fracking, Public Health, Public lands, Water quality

Federal Fracking Ban Re-introduced: Protect Our Public Lands Act, H.R. 1902

Press release, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
[Editor: Food & Water Watch supports the bill with a petition here.  “We know that this is just a first step — that in this political climate it seems like it’s nearly impossible to move things forward — but together we can build momentum to protect the lands that are such an important part of our country.”  – RS]

On Earth Day Pocan and Schakowsky Introduce Strongest Federal Fracking Ban in the U.S.

April 22, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC — On Earth Day, U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), members of the Safe Climate Caucus, introduced the Protect Our Public Lands Act, H.R. 1902. The legislation is the strongest anti-fracking bill introduced in Congress to date and would ban fracking on public lands.

“Our national parks, forests and public lands are some of our most treasured places and need to be protected for future generations,” said Rep. Mark Pocan. “It is clear fracking has a detrimental impact on the environment and there are serious safety concerns associated with these type of wells. Until we fully understand the effects, the only way to avoid these risks is to halt fracking entirely. We should not allow short-term economic gain to harm our public lands, damage our communities or endanger workers.”

“Today is Earth Day – a time to renew our commitment to protecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the planet we all call home,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky. ‘Our public lands have been preserved and protected by the federal government for over one hundred years.  We owe it to future generations to maintain their natural beauty and rich biodiversity.  I believe the only way to do that is to enact the Protect Our Public Lands Act, and I will continue to fight to see that happen.”

“Our public lands are a shared national heritage, and shouldn’t be polluted, destroyed, and fracked to enrich the oil and gas industry,” said Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch. “Ironically, the President is speaking in the Everglades today, a unique and fragile ecosystem that is threatened by nearby fracking on public land. Congress must follow Congressman Pocan and Congresswoman Schakowsky’s bold leadership and ban fracking on these lands, so that future generations can enjoy these special places.”

Mounting evidence shows that fracking threatens our air, water and public health. To make matters worse, reports have shown that existing fracking wells on public lands aren’t being adequately inspected, creating even more potential for disastrous accidents. Right now, about 90 percent of federally managed lands are available for oil and gas leasing, while only 10 percent are reserved for conservation, recreation, wildlife and cultural heritage.

The Protect our Public Lands Act, H.R. 1902 prohibits fracking, the use of fracking fluid, and acidization for the extraction of oil and gas on public lands for any lease issued, renewed, or readjusted. The legislation is endorsed by the Food and Water Watch, the American Sustainable Business Council, Environment America, Friends of the Earth, Center for Biological Diversity, Progressive Democrats of America.

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Explosion, Lac-Mégantic, Public Health

Report: public health in Lac-Mégantic after train derailment and explosion

Repost from CBC News

Lac-Mégantic disaster by the numbers: Catalogue of a tragedy

54% of town’s residents suffered from depression, PTSD after explosion: health report

Jan 28, 2015

A report into the health effects of the Lac-Mégantic, Que., train derailment and explosion indicates people living there are four times more likely to drink to excess following the disaster.

Two-thirds of the 800 people studied suffered human loss, and over half experienced negative feelings such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Marie-Claude Arguin, the town’s deputy manager, said children are among those still showing signs of PTSD, including trouble sleeping and hyper-vigilance.

“Essentially, children have taken care of their parents in the last year,” she said.

“They don’t have all the fears and worries that adults have … But they’ve seen the images, they’ve seen friends losing their parents, they’re living it.”

Lac-Mégantic Mayor Mayor Colette Roy Laroche
Lac-Mégantic Mayor Colette Roy Laroche says the town’s residents will need long-term support to cope with life after the tragedy. (CBC)

She said the community needs a firm commitment that help will continue, and hopes part of the assistance will be devoted to further studies on the population.

In July 2013, a freight train carrying 72 cars of oil derailed and exploded in the centre of Lac-Mégantic.

The explosion killed 47 people, and hundreds of thousands of litres of oil spilled into the Chaudière River as a consequence of the derailment.

Lac-Mégantic Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche said Wednesday the recovery period will be extensive for residents.

In the direct aftermath of the tragedy, resources were rushed in to meet the town’s immediate needs and its citizens were well cared for, she said.

The fear, she said, is that those services may not be there in the longer term. She urged officials to recognize ongoing mental-health support residents will require.

Human and material losses

Estrie public health director Dr. Mélissa Généreux, public health specialist Dr. Geneviève Petit and Danielle Maltais, an expert on the health consequences of major disasters, presented their findings on Wednesday morning in Sherbrooke, Que.

Généreux explained that following the tragedy, residents in the Granit MRC (regional county municipality) experienced a greater sense of belonging and community than people living elsewhere in the Eastern Townships.

​Interviews with 800 residents of the Granit MRC found:

  • 64 per cent had a human loss (fear for their lives or that of a loved one, was injured, etc.).
  • 23 per cent had a material loss.
  • 54 per cent had a negative perception (depression, post-traumatic stress, etc.).
  • 17 per cent of people had an “intense exposure” (e.g. experienced all three of the above).

Généreux, Petit and Maltais commended the fact that medical and psychological resources were quickly deployed to the area after the blast.

Still, it could take years for the mental-health issues stemming from the disaster to subside, said Maltais, a researcher and professor at the University of Chicoutimi.

The public health officials convened in Sherbrooke said the tragedy will have lasting effects on the community for years, particularly because it was due to human negligence.

Arguin said more research is needed to ensure the younger generation is also taken care of, adding it’s hard to know how to handle this type of trauma because there’s no precedent.

“It hasn’t even involved children and teenagers, which is the future of our community,” Arguin said. “And they have been affected just as much.”

In October, a coroner ruled that the deaths in Lac-Mégantic were violent and avoidable.

Three people have each been charged with 47 counts of criminal negligence causing death.

Other numbers from the Lac-Mégantic public health report:

  • 27 children were orphaned (either lost one or both parents).
  • 621 people sought help from the centre set up for homeless and people affected by explosion.
  • 44 buildings were destroyed.
  • 169 people became homeless.
  • 150 psycho-social counsellors deployed to region in wake of explosion.
  • 57,000 square metres of Lac-Mégantic downtown completely burned.
  • 5,560,000 litres of crude oil released into the environment.
    558,000 metric tonnes of contaminated soil to treat.
  • 740,000 litres of crude oil recovered from train cars that did not explode.