Surface water and groundwater analysis using aryl hydrocarbon and endocrine receptor biological assays and liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry in Susquehanna County, PA.

The contamination of surface water and ground water by human activities, such as fossil fuel extraction and agriculture, can be difficult to assess due to incomplete knowledge of the chemicals and chemistry involved. This is particularly true for the potential contamination of drinking water by nearby extraction of oil and/or gas from wells completed by hydraulic fracturing. A case that has attracted considerable attention is unconventional natural gas extraction in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, particularly around Dimock, Pennsylvania.

Long-term impacts of unconventional drilling operations on human and animal health.

Public health concerns related to the expansion of unconventional oil and gas drilling have sparked intense debate. In 2012, we published case reports of animals and humans affected by nearby drilling operations. Because of the potential for long-term effects of even low doses of environmental toxicants and the cumulative impact of exposures of multiple chemicals by multiple routes of exposure, a longitudinal study of these cases is necessary.

The shale gas revolution from the viewpoint of a former industry insider.

This is an interview conducted with an oil and gas worker who was employed in the industry from 1993 to 2012. He requested that his name not be used. From 2008 to 2012, he drilled wells for a major operator in Bradford County, Pennsylvania.

Impacts of gas drilling on human and animal health.

Environmental concerns surrounding drilling for gas are intense due to expansion of shale gas drilling operations. Controversy surrounding the impact of drilling on air and water quality has pitted industry and lease-holders against individuals and groups concerned with environmental protection and public health. Because animals often are exposed continually to air, soil, and groundwater and have more frequent reproductive cycles, animals can be used as sentinels to monitor impacts to human health.

Signalment factors, comorbidity, and trends in behavior diagnoses in cats: 736 cases (1991-2001).

Objective: To describe trends in behavior diagnoses from 1991 to 2001; assess the relationship between diagnoses and age, sex, reproductive status, and breed; and evaluate associations between diagnoses within the same cat (comorbidity).

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 736 cats.

Signalment factors, comorbidity, and trends in behavior diagnoses in dogs: 1,644 cases (1991-2001).

Objective: To determine trends in behavior diagnoses; assess the relationship between diagnoses and age, sex, reproductive status, and breed; and evaluate associations between diagnoses within the same dog (comorbidity).

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 1,644 dogs.