考研英语阅读篇章: 天然气开采对健康的影响

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    考研英语阅读篇章: 天然气开采对健康的影响
    Groundwater and air quality testing before, during, and after natural gas
drilling -- which includes hydraulic fracturing -- should be key components of
efforts to ensure the safety of communities near these sites, according to an
expert panel convened(召集) to weigh in on public health research needs associated
with unconventional natural gas drilling operations (UNGDO). The panel also
urges that any research conducted should use "community-based participatory
research principles" so that the concerns of the many stakeholders involved in
these activities can be addressed. A group of environmental health researchers,
led by Trevor Penning, PhD, director of the Center of Excellence in
Environmental Toxicology (CEET) at the Perelman School of Medicine, University
of Pennsylvania, published their findings this month in Environmental Health
Perspectives.
    UNGDO, which includes hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling,
supplies an energy source which is potentially cleaner than liquid or solid
fossil fuels and may provide a route to energy independence for the U.S, say
proponents(支持者). However, significant concerns have arisen due to the lack of
research on the public health impact of this type of energy extraction.
    "The working group was convened following presentations on the potential of
natural gas drilling to adversely affect public health at the 2012 Annual
Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers [EHSCC] meeting at Harvard School of
Public Health," states Penning.
    Sixteen of the twenty EHSCCs funded by the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) joined the working group to review the
literature on the potential public health impact of UNGDO and to make
recommendations for research.
    The Inter-EHSCC Working Group concluded that a potential for water and air
pollution exists that might endanger public health and that the social fabric of
communities could be affected by the rapid emergence of drilling operations. The
working group recommends research to inform how potential risks could be
mitigated.