Fracking health study results likely years off

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Fracking health study results likely years off

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A health study cited by leading environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as pivotal in helping persuade Gov. Andrew Cuomo to hold off on plans for a limited fracking pilot program is likely years away from conclusions about whether the shale gas-drilling technology is safe.

Andy Deubler (DOOB'-luhr), an executive vice president at Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, says the study is still in early planning stages with only a fraction of its necessary funding. He says it's just one piece of a larger body of independent research just getting under way and seeking funding.

Preliminary results are expected within a year.

Leaders of an anti-fracking coalition in New York state have said Cuomo should wait for results of the Geisinger study. They also want a more extensive, New York-specific review.

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