NYS Health Commissioner Nirav Shah names three outside experts to health panel
New York State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah has named three highly qualified medical experts to assist him in the state’s internal review of the health impacts of hydraulic fracturing. They are John Adgate, chairman of the Environmental and Occupational Health Department at the Colorado School of Public Health; Lynn Goldman, dean of George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services; and Richard Jackson, chairman of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
This follows Governor Cuomo’s announcement in October that he was asking for further review of the information that the State has prepared on the health impact of fracking. Although the caliber of the experts that have been selected for this task is very high, there are still major problems with this process.
- These experts will only be looking at the documentation that has been previously been prepared by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
- No one outside of the government has seen the information that these experts will be reviewing.
- There is no transparency - the medical community and the public are being left out of the process.
- It is unclear whether these three experts will have the independence and autonomy they need and deserve to do the job right.
As we said when this was announced, we agree that a review of the health impacts of fracking is critical but the process that is being implemented is very inadequate to protect the public health. The only type of health review that would be sufficient is a comprehensive and rigorous independent Health Impact Assessment (HIA), which distinguishes itself from other kinds of public health investigations by using quantitative, qualitative and participatory techniques.
A deadline is looming on November 29th – the date when the state is supposed to have completed its process and issued final regulations on fracking. This date now appears to be virtually impossible for the DEC to meet, which would open the process to additional public input. Catskill Mountainkeeper will keep you informed about what develops and continue to pressure the Governor to order an independent HIA. Please click the link below to send Governor Cuomo an email.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Please forward this email to your family, friends and neighbors and ask them to also write to the Governor.
Your support is critical to Catskill Mountainkeeper’s capability to continue to lead this fight, we need your help now more than ever as we head into this next stage.
or send a check to: Catskill Mountainkeeper, Box 381 Youngsville, NY 12791
Copyright 2012 Catskill Mountainkeeper, P.O. Box 381, Youngsville, New York, 12791. Catskill Mountainkeeper is a non-profit 501(c)(3) grassroots advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the unique and irreplaceable Catskill Region of New York State.
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