Notes on Social Impact of Fracking
- Increase of crime in small towns – people going into towns and intervening with the town
- More unexpected criminal activity in the towns – due to the influx of people
- Small Towns – police and public health is overwhelmed by the increase in crime
- Housing shortages
- High levels of traffic and accidents
- Noise pollution and interrupts people in towns – cognitive development interrupted
- Drinking water has a lot of chemicals
- More diseases and illnesses – such as lung cancer and respiratory problems
- Health issues because water spills into the soils – or could rise up
- A lot of documented deaths on the sites and near the sites
- Water pollution caused some companies to lose their licenses
- “National Geographic (Dobb 2013) describes “Streets clotted with noisy, exhaust-belching … trucks. More crime, more highway accidents, more medical emergencies. People on fixed incomes forced to move because they can’t afford steep rent hikes.”
- Boom of prostitution in the area – due to the influx of young men coming to the town without their families
- People know of the increase of people causes an increase in rent
- Many people move out due to the high pricing of rent and other goods
- Reproductive Issues – premature birth, low birth weight, birth defects, heart defects – exposure to particular chemicals and matter can cause reproductive issues
- Skin – Irritation, rashes, hair loss – due to the increased levels of benzene in the air and nitrogen oxide
- Heart and Blood – anemia, chest pain, heart attack – due to carbon monoxide and radium exposure
- Brain and nervous System – dizziness, motor functions impaired, memory problems – due hydrogen sulfide and benzene emissions
- Lungs – Asthma, Silicosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease – due to the fine particulate matter, benzene, methane, radon emissions
- These chemicals can also affect animals
- Increase of STDs due to the increase of illegal sexual activity and unprotected sexual activity
