Yale Study Says Counties With Fracking Have Increased STDs
Um, well, this is uncomfortable. Let's talk about shale drilling and sexually transmitted illnesses, shale we?
We never thought those two things would go into the same sentence, but a study conducted by Yale says oil and gas are not the only byproducts of fracking, or other similar 'f' words. That's right, the super smarts over at Yale say that gonorrhea and chlamydia (STIs) often come with, too.
'The fracking industry has rapidly expanded over the past decade, particularly in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, Texas and North Dakota,' Yale School of Public Health said in its study.
'The influx of workers in these situations is thought to increase STI risk because male workers typically live and socialize in communities with masculinized social norms, do not bring families and thus have opportunities to seek other sex partners, and may have few emotional ties to the local community.'
Reportedly, the increases in gonorrhea and chlamydia were found in Ohio.
'No statistically significant associations were reported for syphilis or for any STIs in Colorado or North Dakota,' the Journal of the American Sexually Transmitted Disease Association said.
However, sexually transmitted illnesses are on the rise in Colorado (we just can't blame fracking for it). Weld and Larimer County have had some of the most new cases of gonorrhea in recent years, Westword reports (see map here).
Remember to stay safe, and get tested regularly. It's easy to crack jokes when you're talking about STDs, but in all seriousness, if they go untreated, there can be severe health consequences.
But, we'll end this on a lighter note: Pete can take it from here.
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