More than 250 doctors across New York state wrote to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Wednesday, expressing their concern that there is no study on the long-term effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on human health included in the DEC's environmental impact statement.
"The SGEIS certainly mentions many of the toxic chemicals employed in hydraulic fracking," said Adam Law, a physician specializing in endocrinology and a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Weill-Cornell Medical College. "But there is no attempt to evaluate the kinds of health consequences that have already been observed in affected communities in those states where hydraulic fracturing is taking place."
Representatives of the signatories held a press conference in Albany to discuss the letter and the concerns of medical professionals.
Law described at the press event how, when reading through the 1,500 page environmental impact statement, he would use a computer program to scan for certain key words. He found that there was no mention of the words "physician," "nurse," "endocrine," "metabolic," "healthcare," "Medicare" or "pediatrics."