Social impact[edit]
One study has linked shale gas operations to increased risks in public health and safety. A study in rural Pennsylvania found hydraulic fracturing to be associated with increases in heavy truck crashes, social disorder arrests and cases of sexually transmitted infections. In counties in rural Pennsylvania with at least one well per fifteen square miles, heavy truck crashes rose 7.2 percent. Additionally the study determined that in rural counties with heavy hydraulic fracturing operations disorderly conduct arrests rose by 17.1% while in rural counties without hydraulic fracturing operations the arrests only increased by 12.7%. Furthermore the study found that following hydraulic fracturing, the average rise in chlamydia and gonorrhea cases was 62% higher in rural counties with heavy hydraulic fracturing operations than in rural counties without these operations. It is likely that the increased rate of truck crashes, social disorder arrests and cases of sexually transmitted infections will increase public health costs in a community, but additional research is needed to fully understand the public health and safety impacts of hydraulic fracturing.[97][citation needed]
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