US-based health services organisation Geisinger Health System has been awarded a $1m grant from the Degenstein Foundation that will be used to fund a study into the potential health impacts of the so-called fracking technique for extracting shale oil and gas.
Geisinger’s study will concentrate on operations at the Pennsylvania stretch of the Marcellus Formation, where around 5,000 wells have been historically drilled to release natural oil and gases.
“Geisinger’s research into the health impacts of natural gas drilling fits perfectly with our mission and we are proud to support this important initiative,” Michael Apfelbaum, co-trustee of the Degenstein Foundation, explained.
The majority of the grant will be used to underwrite Geisinger’s data-gathering infrastructure, with the remaining funds going towards strategic studies of this data. Additional institutional partners...