As if we needed more evidence that oil and gas drilling is bad news: mothers living near intense oil and gas development are 40-70% more likely to have babies with congenital heart defects (CHDs).

Published in Environmental International, the new study consisted of 3,324 infants born in Colorado, where 6% of the population lives within one mile of an active oil and gas well site, from 2005-2011.

“We observed more children were being born with a congenital heart defect in areas with the highest intensity of oil and gas well activity,” said the study’s senior author Lisa McKenzie, PhD, MPH.

CHDs are the most common birth defect in the country and a leading cause of death among infants born with birth defects. CHDs raise the likelihood of the infant having developmental problems and brain injuries.

One of the culprits causing these detrimental effects on the developing fetus may be teratogens, which are hazardous air pollutants emitted from well sites that are known to cross the placenta.

Previous studies in Colorado between 1996 and 2009 and Oklahoma found similar associations but had limitations on them, such as […]