Objective science, research, and evidence confirms natural gas is developed safely, responsibly, and more efficiently than before, but some well-funded organizations continue to peddle misinformation, junk science, and debunked claims as “news.”

A new “scientific investigation” by the Heinz Endowments-funded Environmental Health News (EHN) advances so-called “research” that fails to meet even the most basic credibility thresholds. This four-part series repackages as new claims that have been thoroughly investigated and disproven by scientists and regulatory agencies.

In fact, the author even admits the study serving as the series’ foundation was “not peer reviewed or published” and the findings are “preliminary” and should not be used to make scientific determinations.

Like everyone, we expect the media to be objective and call the balls and strikes fairly. It’s disappointing, but not surprising, though, given EHN has received more than $1.4 million from the Heinz Endowments, an organization that bankrolls anti-natural gas activism, that the blog would advance such misleading, inaccurate, and deeply biased claims. 

We shared these concerns and more in a statement, copied below, which was ignored from the final series:

“For the tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians who work hard each day producing natural gas in the communities where they live and raise their families, there is no greater priority than safety. We are proud to responsibly produce clean, affordable natural gas, which creates family wage-sustaining jobs throughout our communities. Through the use of natural gas, we have achieved significant economic and environmental benefits that have improved public health – benefits that have been widely documented by any number of independent agencies and research bodies over the years.

“As an industry comprised of engineers, we take science seriously. We also understand that certain organizations utilize aligned entities — which they financially support — to spread fear and misinformation. We can accept that reality, but we do not accept their so-called ‘research,’ which fails to meet even the most basic thresholds to be considered remotely scientific or credible. It is convenient for the Environmental Health News and its anti-natural gas financiers at the Heinz Endowments to gloss over the fact that this so-called ‘study’ was not independently peer reviewed or analyzed (a pre requisite for any real scientific study) for objective controls and variables, or even validated by someone other than an individual who’s qualifications are categorized as ‘blogger.’

“Protecting and enhancing public health is our top priority and we will continue to seek out and look to legitimate, independent scientific analysis. As part of this commitment to actual science, we will also ensure that the public is provided important facts and understand the motivations of certain organizations that peddle misinformation and fear aimed at driving clicks to their site.”

Meanwhile, decades of credible research confirms natural gas is developed safely and responsibly:

Air Quality – Increasing production and use of natural gas has enabled our country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a faster rate than any other country. This clean air progress extends locally, too, as for the first time ever, Allegheny County met federal air quality standards at all eight monitors in the county this year.

  • U.S. EPA (2021): CO2 emissions fell 8.4% in the U.S. between 2018-2019 “due to increasing electric power generation from natural gas.” This decline reflects an 11% reduction from 1990 levels, and a 33% decline from the 2005 peak.
  • Pa. DEP (2020): Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) tied to power generation in the state declined 40% between 2005-2018. Statewide power sector SOX and NOX levels declined 93% and 81%, respectively, during that same time span.
  • Pa. DEP (2018): Long-term Marcellus Ambient Air Monitoring project “did not observe exceedances of the NAAQS for pollutants monitored,” and “Did not examine potential acute or chronic impacts to individuals working in, adjacent to, or in the immediate vicinity of natural gas extraction, gathering and/or processing facilities.”
  • Air monitoring study in the Ft. Cherry School District (2016): “All individual (volatile organic compound) concentrations in the monitored area were well below health-protective levels.”

Water Protection/Conservation – Independent research institutions, universities, and government agencies have confirmed hydraulic fracturing technology is not a threat to groundwater resources.

  • Susquehanna River Basin Commission (2019): “Natural gas development has had no discernable impact on water quality in the Susquehanna River Basin.”
  • Pennsylvania State University (2018): “The most interesting thing we discovered was the groundwater chemistry in one of the areas most heavily developed for shale gas – an area with 1400 new gas wells – does not appear to be getting worse with time, and may even be getting better.”
  • U.S. Geological Survey (2017): “UOG [unconventional oil and gas] operations did not contribute substantial amounts of methane or benzene to the sample drinking-water wells.”
  • Duke University (commissioned by NRDC, 2017): “Based on consistent evidence from comprehensive testing, we found no indication of groundwater contamination over the three-year course of our study.”
  • Pa. DEP (2016): “There is no evidence that hydraulic fracturing has resulted in a direct impact to water supply in Pennsylvania.”
  • U.S. EPA (2015): “Hydraulic fracturing activities have not led to widespread, systematic impacts to drinking water resources.”

Radiation –NORM (naturally occurring radioactive material) is present everywhere in the environment. An average American is exposed to about 620 mrems/year – comparatively, exposure to workers at an oil and/or gas well site is expected to be less than 30 mrems. These exposure numbers “has not been shown to cause humans any harm,” according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Public Health – As an industry deeply committed to protecting the health, safety and environment of our communities, we support fact-based and objective scientific research.

  • National Bureau of Economic Research (2019): “The drop in natural gas prices in the late 2000s, induced largely by the boom in shale gas production, averted 11,000 winter deaths per year in the US.”
  • UPMC’s Dr. Kelly Bailey (2019): “We have no data right now showing that there’s any environmental exposure, anything like that, that would lead to one developing Ewing sarcoma.”
  • Health Effects Institute (2019): “Studies tying shale development to negative public health impacts used imprecise measures, failed to consider other possible factors, and, in some cases, were poorly designed.”
  • Pa. DEP (2018): “A much-delayed state air monitoring study meant to gauge the long-term health risks of living near Marcellus Shale operations found limited impacts to the air quality around the sites it examined and little risk of healthy residents getting sick from breathing the air nearby.”

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