It’s not easy for frontline fracking families

What does the Post-Gazette editorial board have against Ohio Valley residents, especially those that live on the frontline of fracking (“Butt out, Mr. Bloomberg,” Sept. 26)? Isn’t this the same paper that published the “Human Toll” series (May 14 and July 18) exposing the health issues facing families living on the frontline of fracking?

Great investigative reporting by Dave Templeton and Don Hopey showed high incidents of rare cancers such as Ewing sarcoma and childhood leukemia in school districts that are heavily fracked.

Industry’s self-reporting of pollution does not benefit anyone but industry. Yet this board wants communities living in the shale fields to “remain on high alert and keep the corporations accountable.” That is the job of local, state and federal agencies, which unfortunately have demonstrated that they are not up to the task.

It is important to understand that a petrochemical plant such as the Shell cracker plant could not exist if not for all the natural gas wells in the area, predominantly in Washington County. It also would not exist without all the processing occurring through industry’s mid-stream operations.

Shell’s Falcon Ethane Pipeline would not be available to feed the beast if not for the fracking and processing done in the region. This all comes at a cost to the environment and to frontline families’ health.

Perhaps Mr. Bloomberg understands this and chooses to use his wealth to help communities that can’t afford to take on big industry when they have suffered by its hand.

CATHY LODGE

Bulger