User:Richard elwell/sandbox

Effects on Livestock
One study found that hydraulic fracturing fluids in wastewater was strongly implicated in the death, failure to breed, and reduced growth rate of cattle that were exposed to the wastewater. The study examined several cases of cattle exposure to water contaminated with hydraulic fracturing fluids. In one case 17 cows died within a single hour of exposure to hydraulic fracturing fluid. In two other cases, parts of a herd of cattle were exposed to wastewater contaminated with fracking fluid and the rest of the herd was kept separate from the wastewater. In both cases the parts of the herds that were exposed to the wastewater had several cows die, deliver stillborn calves or fail to breed while the cattle that were not exposed to the wastewater had no health problems.

Economic effects
An article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek brought attention to the damage to rural roads caused by the heavy trucks used in hydraulic fracturing operations. The cost to repair the damage is supposed to be covered by the by the drilling companies. According to a resident of one of these rural towns, the drilling company Chesapeake “has been pretty good about road maintenance” but he goes on to say that the idea that taxpayers will not bear the cost of this damage is ridiculous. However some companies have delayed making repairs as they’ve added new wells to their drilling sites. “The resulting road damage will cost tens of millions of dollars to fix and is catching officials from Pennsylvania to Texas off guard. Measures to ensure that roads are repaired don’t capture the full cost of damage, potentially leaving taxpayers with the bill.”

The economic effect of energy extraction in rural towns was classified by one study as the Boomtown Impact Model. In this model, the emergence of a boomtown in a rural area that is rich in energy resources brings short and long term economic consequences, both positive and negative. A case study in Sublette County, Wyoming found that the boomtown produced by the natural gas drilling in the area had mixed effects. There was a significant growth of jobs however the town experienced inflation and the cost of living increased. The boomtown model presented in this study almost inevitably ends with an economic bust. It has also been pointed out that economic growth for some is not guaranteed to spread to the entire community and individuals can be negatively affected if they are not able to participate in the rapid growth.

Academic Research
A study in rural Pennsylvania found that fracking is associated with increased amounts of heavy truck crashes, social disorder arrests and cases of sexually transmitted infections. The study found that “Heavy-truck crashes rose 7.2 percent in heavily fracked rural Pennsylvania counties (with at least one well for every 15 square miles) but fell 12.4 in unfracked rural counties after fracking began in 2005”. Additionally the study determined that “Disorderly conduct arrests increased by 17.1 percent in heavily fracked rural counties, compared to 12.7 percent in unfracked rural counties”. Furthermore the study found that “After fracking, the average increase in chlamydia and gonorrhea cases was 62 percent greater in heavily fracked rural counties than in unfracked rural counties”. The researchers conclude that although fracking is associated with public health problems further research is needed to fully understand its effects. It is likely that the increased rate of truck crashes, social disorder arrests and cases of sexually transmitted infections will increase public health costs in a community.