Fracking chemicals that interfere with hormone function found in water near drilling sites

Chemicals used in the much-discussed oil and gas drilling technique hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, can disrupt the body's endocrine system, and are finding they way into surface and groundwater in drilling-heavy areas.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, can interfere with the regular hormone function of the body, with research linking it to cancer, birth defects and infertility.

"More than 700 chemicals are used in the fracking process, and many of them disturb hormone function," said one of the study's authors, Susan C. Nagel of the University of Missouri. "With fracking on the rise, populations may face greater health risks from increased endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure."

The study, published in The Endocrine Society's journal Endocrinology, looked at the effect of 12 suspected or known EDCs used in tracking operations and measured their effects on the body's male and female hormones. Of these, they found that 11 chemicals blocked estrogen hormones, 10 blocked androgen hormones and one mimicked estrogen.

Researchers then collected ground and surface water samples from sites with drilling spills in drilling-intensive Garfield County, Colorado -- where there are some 10,000 active natural gas wells -- and compared them to other samples from sites with lower drilling activity in the same region, which had not experienced spills.

Water samples from drilling sites with reported spills showed moderate to high levels of EDC activity, which could affect the body's response to androgens, a class of hormones that includes testosterone and estrogen.

Samples from the Colorado River, which serves as the drainage basin for the natural gas drilling sites, had moderate levels EDC activity. By comparison, little EDC activity was observed in samples from sites with little drilling.

The U.S. has vast reserves of nature gas and hydraulic fracturing techniques have helped better access these gas reserves. Fracking involves injecting water mixed with sand and chemicals in a well at high pressure, which then creates small fractures letting the gas escape towards the well.

While fracking is exempt from federal regulations, it has been known to contaminate ground and surface water at drilling sites and faces opposition in many communities across the U.S.

[University of Missouri] [Endocrinology]