Fracking should not be allowed in Ireland until there is a proper method of assessing whether it contributes to the development of cancer, a doctor has warned.

According to Dr Elizabeth Cullen, a senior medical officer with the HSE and a committee member of the Irish Doctors' Environmental Association (IDEA), it is now widely acknowledged that the world's supplies of fossil fuels ‘will begin to reduce in the very near future'.

For example, by 2040, it is estimated that production levels of oil may be down to about 20% of the levels that are currently used. At the same time, the world's population is expected to increase significantly.

In an attempt to meet this challenge, fracking - a method of extracting fossil fuel from the earth - has been developed. It is largely used to extract fossil fuel from shale rock, which is a sedimentary rock that becomes compacted over time.

Fracking fluid contains additives and chemicals and the fracking process is very water intensive, with each fracking well needing between two and five million gallons of water.

Concern has already been expressed about environmental risks related to fracking, such as the possibility of contamination of drinking water and ground water by chemicals, however limited research has been carried out into the potential health concerns related to this process.

Dr Cullen noted that up to 9% of cancer cases in developed countries are thought to be linked to pollution, ‘however if an exposure to an environmental pollutant is widespread, the number of cases may be larger'.

"Should we be concerned about the impact that fracking may have on the incidence of cancer? The relationship between the environmental impacts of fracking and public health are complex. The issue of adverse health effects of fracking were addressed in a public health report undertaken in 2014 by the New York State Department of Health and reported as complex and ‘not fully understood'," she said.

Some of the concerns contained in this report included the adverse effect on respiratory health that increased levels of particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and volatile organic compounds, which are released by fracking, can have.

However Dr Cullen emphasised that we simply ‘do not have adequate knowledge to fully assess the health risks that fracking presents'.

As part of her research, she reviewed all studies that investigated adverse health impacts from fracking from January 1995 to March 2014.
"As would be expected, the majority of the studies were short-term, and very few examined health outcomes with a longer latency period such as cancer. A ‘clear gap' in the scientific knowledge was identified and the researchers noted that ‘public health concerns remain intense'," she commented.

As a result, the ‘precise' health impacts of fracking are ‘not yet clear'.

"To assist us in quantifying the risks that environmental pressures, such as fracking, poses to health, we need a system to quantify the environmental pressures that patients with cancer experienced in their lives.

"We need a systematic surveillance system, possibly adopting the methodology of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, whereby detailed information on exposure to putative sources of infectious diseases are ascertained for every patient who has suffered from one of many specified infectious diseases," she suggested.

Dr Cullen added that no decision to allow fracking in Ireland will be made ‘until the outcome of a major research programme has been undertaken, which will investigate the environmental impacts of fracking'.

"The question that concerns us is whether fracking will have an impact on the incidence of cancer in this country? The reality is that we just don't know yet but until we have a systematic method of assessing the contribution that fracking and other environmental issues may make to the development of cancer, we should decline the offer."

Dr Cullen writes extensively about this topic in the journal, Cancer Professional. To see her article, click here