Texas Town Fears Nearby Oil and Nat Gas is Poisoning their Families, Livestock

The residents of Dish, Texas were delighted when an oil-rich rock formation was found underneath their tiny town. They welcomed the huge checks from the oil and gas companies would disburse for the right to drill on their land. But a soon-to-be-released report shows that the town's air is polluted by benzene, an invisible cancer-causing gas that is believed to be accidentally escaping and poisoning residents.

"I had friends of mine that got filthy rich off oil and gas companies drilling out here. I'm not against the oil and gas industry. I'm against being poisoned," said Rebecca McKamie to the Associated Press. McKamie says that her family has experienced serious health problems and unusual deaths of their farm animals. The shale in question runs underneath 20 counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Benzene exposure, in small amounts, has become part of the modern American lifestyle. Cigarette smoke, gasoline fumes, and manufacturing off gasses often contain benzene. The gas naturally occurs in crude oil, and is essential to the creation of gasoline, plastics (including BPA), rubber, dyes, styrene, and even some prescriptions.

Benzene, after prolonged exposure, can attack bone marrow and create or complicate the presence of anemia. Kidney cancer and genetic damage due to rifts it generates in human and animal DNA have also been observed. In order to protect the citizens of Dish and the surrounding area, the Texas Environment Commission said that "everything is on the table."

The operators of the oil and natural gas fields say that there isn't a problem, and no need for serious action. "I believe we are operating in a very safe manner and an environmentally friendly manner," said John Satterfield, the environmental health and safety manager at Chesapeake Energy Corp. "We're not poo-pooing the idea that benzene is harmful. We are trying to place it in perspective."

For citizens of Dish (who renamed the town in a publicity stunt that won residents free satellite TV), the harmful effects of the oil and natural gas industry are far from a fairy tale. "If it kills trees, how good could it be for people?" said resident Lloyd Burgess, pointing at a row of dead and gnarled trees along the border of his ranch and a neighboring natural gas pumping station. Burgess
believes the activity of the neighboring natural gas companies are directly responsible for the deaths of horses on his ranch.

The residents of Dish are upset over the sluggish response they've experienced from state regulators, going as far to suggest that the regulators should drive out to dish personally to smell of noxious gas that covers hundreds of acres and jeopardizes their health. The residents of Dish also say that the most impacted parties are the farmers, whose livestock lives in constant exposure to the chemicals before being slaughtered and sold in meat markets across the world. If natural gas activity is the cause for this pollution increase, the decisions of Texas regulators could have a far-reaching impact.