Mice exposed to fracking chemicals during pregnancy were less able to fend off diseases; scientists say this could have major implications for people near oil and gas sites

Chemicals commonly found in groundwater near fracked oil and gas wells appear to impair the proper functioning of the immune system, according to a lab study released today.

The study, published today in the journal Toxicological Sciences, is the first to find a link between fracking chemicals and immune system problems and suggests that baby girls born to mothers near fracking wells may not fight diseases later in life as well as they could have with a pollution-free pregnancy.

“This is a really important study, especially since the work started with the idea of identifying what’s out there in the environment, how much people are exposed to,” Andrea Gore, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin, told EHN.