Cancer incidence rates below national average (454.8 per 100,000) in top-four oil and gas producing states
by Seth Whitehead, EnergyInDepth
EID has debunked numerous activist-funded or authored health studies in recent years, and most of them have either specifically claimed fracking causes cancer or insinuated it can cause cancer, despite having no evidence to support such claims.
In almost every instance, the researchers suggest the mere presence of chemicals linked to cancer pose a threat, failing to take into account dose and exposure levels, which are the most relevant factors in determining the risk posed by a substance linked to cancer.
Interestingly, the latest American Cancer Society data (spanning 2009 to 2013), shows that cancer incidence rates are below the national average (454.8 per 100,000) in the top-four oil and gas producing states — New Mexico (390.4), Wyoming (414.9), Texas (419.6) and Colorado (419.9).
By comparison, cancer incidence rates are higher than the national average in two states where fracking has been banned — New York (493.3) and Vermont (466.7) — as well as several states that have no oil and gas production at all, including: Massachusetts (480.7) Georgia (464.4), North Carolina (466.6), South Carolina (459.8), New Jersey (493.3), Washington (471.4), Maine (483.3), New Hampshire (496), Connecticut (491.8), Delaware (506.5) and Iowa (478.6).