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SVC data science professor studies relationship between fracking chemicals and birth outcomes

SVC data science professor studies relationship between fracking chemicals and birth outcomes

by Public Relations | October 16, 2024

LATROBE, PA – Dr. Mary Regina Boland, C’10, assistant professor of data science in the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computing at Saint Vincent College, has published a study on whether some chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing affect the occurrence of pre-term births (PTB) and low birth weights (LBW) in the United States.

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as fracking, is a technique to extract oil and gas from rock by injecting high-pressure mixtures of water, sand or gravel, and chemicals. Boland investigated whether certain fracking chemicals that target hormones such as estrogen and testosterone can alter the risk of PTB and LBW at a county level across the United States.

The study, titled “A National Study of the Associations Between Hormonal Modulators and Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Chemicals and Birth Outcomes in the United States of America: A County-Level Analysis,” was published Oct. 16 in Environmental Health Perspectives, a peer-reviewed journal supported by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Boland found that counties that had more hydraulic fracturing wells that utilize chemicals that target certain hormones also had greater amounts of PTB and LWB. The study also revealed that chemicals that affect estrogen and testosterone—hormones that are vital for proper fetal development during pregnancy—resulted in the largest increase. This indicates that chemicals that affect sex-hormones appear to have a greater effect on birth outcomes.

“This is one step towards exploring factors that might be potentially underlying these recent increases in PTB over the last decade,” Boland said.

PTB is defined as a baby born before 37 weeks of gestation (40 weeks is considered full-term). Over the past 10 years, the national rate of PTB has risen from 9.8% to 10.4%, according to 2023 data from the March of Dimes. In Pennsylvania, the 2023 PTB rate was 9.6%.

Boland’s study used information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, the Census Bureau, the March of Dimes and Frac Focus, a national hydraulic fracturing chemical disclosure registry.

Boland cautioned this is an association study, and causality cannot be determined from the results. However, the findings point to potential harm of using chemicals that are well-established to modulate hormones.

“It seems like [fracking] is a contributing factor, but it really does matter what types of chemicals are used,” Boland said. “Some [energy] companies have already started changing the chemicals they’re using, based on research into the effects.”

The data in Boland’s study could encourage energy companies to switch to alternative chemicals that do not target estrogen, testosterone or other hormonal pathways.

Some fracking wells in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties use chemicals that target the hormonal pathways studied by Boland. However, the PTB rates in both counties are lower than the 10.4% national average—9.9% in Allegheny and 9.2% in Westmoreland.

LINK TO STUDY: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/ehp12628

 

Dr. Mary Regina Boland explaining her research to nursing students at Saint Vincent College

Dr. Mary Regina Boland explaining her research to nursing students at Saint Vincent College

Portrait of Dr. Mary Regina Boland

Dr. Mary Regina Boland

Map of areas with fracking wells that utilize chemicals that target estrogen pathways

Map of areas with fracking wells that utilize chemicals that target estrogen pathways

 

 

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