Feb 23–NATURAL GAS WITH UN-NATURAL CONSEQUENCES:Health Effects of Hydrofracking TC3

February 23–Health Effects of Hydrofracking–6:00pm at TC3. Sponsored by DRAC. (details to follow)

NATURAL GAS WITH UN-NATURAL CONSEQUENCES: THE HEALTH RISKS OF SHALE GAS DRILLING
Tuesday, February 23, 6:00-8:00 at The Forum room, Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3), 170 North St, Dryden, NY.

The presenters will be Ron Bishop, lecturer in Chemistry at SUNY
Oneonta; Thomas Shelly, chemical safety and hazardous materials
specialist; Adam Law, a physician who specializes in endocrinology.
Dr. William Klepack family practice physician of Dryden, will be
introducing the speakers.  Dr. Klepack serves as Medical Director of
the Tompkins County Health Department.

Doors will open at 6:00 and talks start at 6:30.  The evening will be
divided into three half hour presentations, with a question and
answer period following the presentations.
The presentations:

Ron Bishop, lecturer in chemistry at SUNY Oneonta, will offer a
powerpoint presentation addressing the why and how of the
unconventional gas drilling technique known as high-volume,
slick-water, hydrofracturing.  Bishop holds a B.A. in Chemistry from
Youngstown State University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from The West
Virgina University School of Medicine. In his 17 years of full-time
research, his projects were related to cancer and biosafety.  For the
last 11 years, Bishop has taught a variety of courses (biology,
genetics, general and organic chemistry, biochemistry and
environmental sciences) in high schools and colleges.  He currently
teaches in the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department at SUNY Oneonta, and is nationally certified in chemical hazards management.

Thomas Shelley, chemical safety and hazardous materials specialist
and chemist by profession, will follow Ron Bishop’s presentation with
a discussion of how the chemicals used at the drilling site are
handled, what chemicals come back out of the ground with the drilling
waste fluids and the categories of different chemical mixtures. He
will also talk about the established links between chemicals and health, and address some of the issues of  radioactivity in the waste fluid.  Shelley worked in Cornell Environmental Health and Safety for 18 years as a chemical and laboratory safety specialist. For much of that time he was the Chemical Hygiene Officer for Cornell University.

Adam Law is a physician who specializes in endocrinology. He will
present a brief overview of  the disruptions chemicals can bring to
the human body’s  endocrine system. Adam Law was raised in London, UK
where he received his medical degree and his doctorate in molecular
medicine.  He has 8 years of basic science research experience in
molecular biology and biochemistry.  He has been an attending
physician at the Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca since 1994 and was
President of the medical staff 2009.  He became aware of gas drilling
in the Finger Lakes portion of the Marcellus shale after questions
from his concerned patients. As an endocrinologist he has been
inspired by the work of Dr. Theo Colborn, founder of the Endocrine
Disruptor Exchange.

This forum is sponsored by Shaleshock Citizen’s Action Alliance and
co-sponsored by the Center for Transformative Action, Cornell
Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, Gas Drilling Awareness of
Cortland County, TC3 Sustainability Council, Dryden Resource
Awareness Coalition, Sustainable Otsego, Sustainable Tompkins, and
Marcellus Accountability Project.

For more information contact Shaleshock08@yahoo.com or call Sharon Anderson, Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County at 607-272-2292