“It is time we stopped being at the mercy of big business”
Dr. Brooke Ah Shay NT News 25 September 2022
THIS week’s news of Origin Energy’s divestment from the Beetaloo Basin has garnered much attention and for good reason: it is time for everyone to recognise that fracking has no place in the Northern Territory’s future (or Australia’s for that matter), and that the project finally be laid to rest.
As a GP, I echo the concerns voiced by doctors around the world about the health risks posed by fracking.
Fracking uses many pollutant chemicals. Many of the chemicals found in shale gas wastewater have not been evaluated, are known carcinogens (that is, substances capable of causing cancer) and have the potential to cause harm.
They can do this by impacting local water supplies and from air pollution.
There is also mounting evidence in the United States, which has a long history of gas mining, of associations between nearby gas projects and health issues such as negative birth outcomes, asthma, and some cancers.