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A group of American doctors warns in a letter to Ministers Crevits and Demir that the ethane cracker in the port of Antwerp will turbocharge the extraction of shale gas in the US, and therefore also the release of toxic chemicals.
“The Ineos project will not only significantly increase the need for shale gas, but also lead to the release of large quantities of toxic chemicals into the air. That threatens not only clean air, but also all progress on the climate crisis. Fracking (the method to release shale gas from deep underground, ed.) and the development of shale gas have left a trail of destruction through America.”
Two American organizations representing medical professionals, Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania (PSR PA) and Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility (Texas PSR), are sounding the alarm about the Ineos project in the port of Antwerp. Not because they are concerned about the health of Antwerp residents, but because of the health of people in Texas and Pennsylvania.
Premature births and asthma
In a letter to Flemish Minister of Health Hilde Crevits (CD&V) and Flemish Minister of the Environment Zuhal Demir (N-VA), they point out the damage that the chemicals released during fracking can cause. In this way, they hope to stop the permit for Ineos' ethane cracker in the port of Antwerp.
Ineos wants to produce ethylene, a basic substance for plastic. To this end, the British chemical giant will import ethane from the United States, where it will be extracted from the ground through fracking. But the risks for people living near fracking installations are not small, the Americans warn: more premature births and more babies with low birth weight, but also a greater risk of asthma and an increase in rare childhood cancers.
Fracking also releases large amounts of methane. That is a greenhouse gas with a very negative impact on the climate. For environmental organizations, that methane is one of the reasons to challenge the permit for Ineos.
Read more here.
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