OHSA’s Hazard Alert discusses the health hazards associated with hydraulic fracturing and focuses on worker exposures to silica in the air. It covers the health effects of breathing silica, recommends ways to protect workers, and describes how OSHA and NIOSH can help. Workers and employers need to be aware of the hazard that silica dust poses.

A new report says the stage is set for some dramatic confrontations over proposed regulations that will pit the White House and the EPA against a Republican Congress.

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo ended years of contentious debate Wednesday by announcing that the health and environmental risks of fracking were greater than the benefits and that the controversial method of harvesting natural gas would be banned in the state.

Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”  is the process of injecting large volumes of water, sand, and chemicals into the ground at high pressure to break up shale formation allowing more efficient recovery of oil and gas.

Officials in Wyoming were caught flat-footed when residents outside the town of Pavillion began asking tough questions about hydraulic fracturing and a sudden change in the quality of their drinking water, leading to nasty fights between residents, oil and gas operators, the state and federal agencies.