Researchers warn of negative health consequences from fracking in BC Peace region

Researchers met with City of Dawson Creek council on February 9 to discuss the potential harm and health consequences of oil and gas activity in northeastern BC.

Dr. Ulrike Meyer, a Dawson Creek, BC family physician who has been practicing for more than 30 years, said she has observed the prevalence of rare cancers at alarming frequency, and she claims exposure to contaminants from nearby fracking is to blame.

“As health providers we have an obligation to promote and protect public health and well-being. This also means speaking out and informing,” she said.

“Many of my physician colleagues cited concerns about the health effects of living so close to fracking as a reason for leaving our community.”

In the summer of 2023, 25 lung biopsies were performed at Dawson Creek, 23 of them came back positive for cancer.

Ten people from 2016 to 2018 were also diagnosed with idiopathic interstitial fibrosis, which causes scarring on the lungs without any known cause.

Meyers was surprised to see ten cases in a population of more than 12,000 in just two years, saying the incidence of this type of lung lesion is nine per 100,000.

Meyer says that since fracking began in the Peace area in the early 2000s, he estimates there are 30,000 wells located there.

The mayor was also accompanied by Dr. Alice Caron-Beaudoin, a PhD researcher at the University of Toronto’s Department of Health, and Dr. Margaret McGregor, a family physician at the UBC Department of Family Practice.

Caron-Beaudoin says fracking chemicals can contaminate water and air, causing damage to human cells at the chromosomal level.

“This damage at the cellular level is widely accepted as the underlying cause of human diseases, including cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular problems, and harmful birth outcomes,” he explains.

For the past ten years, Caron-Beaudoin has been working to track the health effects of exposure to oil and gas industry chemicals.

In 2016 and 2019, hair, nail and urine samples were collected from two groups of pregnant women in northeastern BC, in addition to tap water and air samples from their homes.

Caron-Beaudoin says levels of the chemical were much higher in both groups than in the general Canadian population.

McGregor says they identified 52 studies on populations living near fracked gas from 2000 to 2022, finding that most studies reported greater risks for impaired fetal development, premature birth, congenital malformations, childhood cancer and heart disease.

Councilor Jeremy Earl said the topic requires thoughtful discussion, as many Dawson Creek residents make their living through employment in the oil and gas sector.

“Our first priority is always the health and safety of the public,” he said. “We also need to keep in mind that this is how many people pay off their debts and feed their children.”

Earl says additional air quality monitors have been installed throughout the region, noting that the data from them should be publicly available.

The city maintains and treats its own water, records of which can be made available to researchers, he said.

The researchers intend to continue studying health outcomes in the Peace region in relation to proximity to fracking activity.

“Based on this research, there is growing awareness in the scientific community about the health harms of the gas industry,” McGregor said.

“There needs to be a very clear view of what the problems are and how to mitigate them.”

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