Scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center have found that exposure to fracking chemicals during pregnancy decreases a female offspring's ability to fight disease. The work was published in Toxicological Sciences yesterday.
"Our study reveals that there are links between early life exposure to fracking-associated chemicals and damage to the immune system in mice," said study leader Paige Lawrence, Ph.D. "This discovery opens up new avenues of research to identify, and someday prevent, possible adverse health effects in people living near fracking sites."
23 out of the 200 studied fracking chemicals found in groundwater were found to be linked to reproductive and developmental defects in mice. These 23 chemicals were classified as endocrine disrupters, which interfere with hormones and hormone-controlled systems.
Lawrence tested the impact of the 23 chemicals on the immune system by adding the chemicals to the drinking water of pregnant mice at the same levels they are found normally in groundwater.
"Our goal is to figure out if these chemicals in our water impact human health," said Lawrence, "but we first need to know what specific aspects of health to look at, so this was a good place to start."
Lawrence found that pups—especially the females—had a strange immune response, which led to disease. The most striking thing they found was that the mice that were exposed to the fracking chemicals were very susceptible to a multiple sclerosis-like disease compared to the mice that were not exposed to the chemicals.
The group believes that the fracking chemicals do disrupt the cellular pathways that control immune responses. The group is planning to continue their studies on this topic to see how exactly the fracking chemicals are interacting with the immune system.