A new study published last week by Nature revealed air pollution kills 3.3 million people worldwide every year. This number might seem shocking, but for those living amongst highly polluted areas the figure might sound familiar. With mortality rates on the rise, a wrongful death lawyer might see more cases in relation to air quality in the coming years.
One cause of pollution growing in the United States is the construction of hydraulic fracture mines in small towns like St. George, Utah. This process, more commonly known as fracking, drills into shale rock underground to release oil and natural gas.
What would seem to be a friendly alternative to traditional oil mining, has caused quite the controversy among environmentalists. Environment America reported that in 2010, “the average fracking well released an estimated 110,000 pounds of methane.” This kind of pollution could lead to an increase in claims a lawyer sees regarding wrongful death.
This impact on air quality had one Utah woman concerned. Donna Young—a midwife from Vernal, Utah, about six hours north of St. George—sounded the alarm in 2013. After noticing an increase in infant deaths she conducted a study and found that in her small town, the infant mortality rate had increased by six times the normal rate during a three-year period.
As reported by Rolling Stone, Young received a lot of backlash in claiming that the town’s main source of income was in fact killing its residents. Citizens feared that a wrongful death lawyer might get involved and sue the company.
But the numbers were too unusual to ignore. It was strange for a small town like St. George or Vernal to experience such an increase in infant deaths, and Young noticed that many of the women who experienced still births and miscarriages had been working in or living near the fracking well.
After some further investigation and research done by the state, officials concluded that the numbers were strange, but not “statistically significant,” as reported by The Salt Lake Tribune. In 2013, Young also delivered several babies born with birth defects, something she had never encountered before.
In response to the placement of fracking wells, Sharon Buccino—a lawyer from the Natural Resources Defense Council—stated that “state governments have fallen down on protecting the public.” But, whether or not the pollution caused from oil fracking wells in St. George and other Utah towns is causing so much wrongful death will remain unclear until further research is conducted.
Emily Culp is a legal writer reporter for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. Information provided by Robert J Debry. Follow on Twitter
One cause of pollution growing in the United States is the construction of hydraulic fracture mines in small towns like St. George, Utah. This process, more commonly known as fracking, drills into shale rock underground to release oil and natural gas.
What would seem to be a friendly alternative to traditional oil mining, has caused quite the controversy among environmentalists. Environment America reported that in 2010, “the average fracking well released an estimated 110,000 pounds of methane.” This kind of pollution could lead to an increase in claims a lawyer sees regarding wrongful death.
This impact on air quality had one Utah woman concerned. Donna Young—a midwife from Vernal, Utah, about six hours north of St. George—sounded the alarm in 2013. After noticing an increase in infant deaths she conducted a study and found that in her small town, the infant mortality rate had increased by six times the normal rate during a three-year period.
As reported by Rolling Stone, Young received a lot of backlash in claiming that the town’s main source of income was in fact killing its residents. Citizens feared that a wrongful death lawyer might get involved and sue the company.
But the numbers were too unusual to ignore. It was strange for a small town like St. George or Vernal to experience such an increase in infant deaths, and Young noticed that many of the women who experienced still births and miscarriages had been working in or living near the fracking well.
After some further investigation and research done by the state, officials concluded that the numbers were strange, but not “statistically significant,” as reported by The Salt Lake Tribune. In 2013, Young also delivered several babies born with birth defects, something she had never encountered before.
In response to the placement of fracking wells, Sharon Buccino—a lawyer from the Natural Resources Defense Council—stated that “state governments have fallen down on protecting the public.” But, whether or not the pollution caused from oil fracking wells in St. George and other Utah towns is causing so much wrongful death will remain unclear until further research is conducted.
Emily Culp is a legal writer reporter for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. Information provided by Robert J Debry. Follow on Twitter