Letter to the editor: DEP must limit toxic air pollution

Aiming to fulfill its “mission … to protect the people, to ensure their safety, to make their lives better” (“Grand jury report on fracking indicts the state,” July 7, TribLIVE), the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is considering a proposed rule to limit toxic air pollution (volatile organic compounds, VOCs) from existing oil and natural gas sources. At the end of June, DEP held public hearings on the proposal and will continue accepting public comments through July 27 at RegComments@pa.gov.

Dangerous, typically invisible pollutants can leak at every stage of the oil and gas supply chain and worsen asthma and lung diseases; increase the risk of heart disease, neurological issues and poor birth outcomes; and increase hospitalization rates. VOCs include significant cancer-causing chemicals.

Methane leaking from oil and gas operations is a major contributor to climate change and its health and economic costs. Pennsylvanians are experiencing these firsthand in hotter, longer summers that cause heat-related health declines and deaths, as well as more severe storms and floods that endanger our lives, property and farms.

Because more than half the methane pollution comes from low-producing wells and is unpredictable, the rules must include frequent, regular inspections and repair of these sources.

Providing and implementing the strongest possible protections from these risks for Pennsylvanians safeguards our health, our environment and our economy, generating jobs in the process.

Elissa Weiss, M.D.

Indiana Township