I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
At least 22 toxic chemicals, including four known human carcinogens, were found in nine separate air samples taken near natural gas drilling operations by community advocacy and environmental groups in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and Garfield and La Plata counties in Colorado, according to a new report from Global Community Monitor.
Entitled “GASSED! Citizen Investigation of Natural Gas Development (pdf),” the report details how the air samples, taken near homes, playgrounds, schools and community centers, were analyzed by a certified lab.
“Carcinogenic chemicals like benzene and acrylonitrile should not be in the air we breathe – and certainly not at these highly alarming levels,” said Dr. Mark Chernaik. “These results suggest neighboring communities are not being protected and their long-term health is being put at risk.”
“We are very concerned about the total disregard for the health and welfare of the people ‘existing’ near the sickening toxic oil and gas industry dumps vlocated in neighborhoods such as the land farm on Crouch Mesa and the waste disposal facility in Bloomfield that are permitted and approved by the State of New Mexico and Federal EPA,” said Shirley McNall, member of San Juan County, NM Residents Worried About Our Health, in response to the report.
As part of the air-quality study, neighbors of natural gas drilling operations were asked to record various chemical odors, sample the air quality and appeal to various regulators to investigate complaints.
“My husband, pets, and I have experienced respiratory and other health-related problems during the 12 years we have lived on Cow Canyon Road in La Plata County, Colo.,” Jeri Montgomery said of nearby natural gas development. “We believe these health issues are related to the air quality in our neighborhood and in the area.”
Battlement Concerned Citizens, a community advocacy group fighting a natural gas drilling plan in Colorado’s Garfield County, also participated in the study. The group in May expressed dismay when the Garfield County commissioners dropped an independent Health Impact Assessment that would have included air-quality sampling.
“The draft Health Impact Assessment, written by credible institutions like the Colorado School of Public Health, strongly recommended timely initiation of air sampling in the gas patch,” Frank Smith of Western Colorado Congress told the Independent. “The commission’s decision to not finalize the HIA symbolized their disinterest in truly understanding natural gas’s impacts to public health. [Garfield County] citizens were left to find their own answers when GarCo stopped the HIA process and disowned the draft recommendations.”
Chemicals detected in the nine air samples collected for the Global Community Monitor were found to range from three times to 3,000 times higher than what’s considered safe by state and federal agencies.
