Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK.
Communications, Media & Culture, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Apr 4;15(4):675. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15040675.
Unconventional oil and gas extraction (UOGE) including fracking for shale gas is underway in North America on a large scale, and in Australia and some other countries. It is viewed as a major source of global energy needs by proponents. Critics consider fracking and UOGE an immediate and long-term threat to global, national, and regional public health and climate. Rarely have governments brought together relatively detailed assessments of direct and indirect public health risks associated with fracking and weighed these against potential benefits to inform a national debate on whether to pursue this energy route. The Scottish government has now done so in a wide-ranging consultation underpinned by a variety of reports on unconventional gas extraction including fracking. This paper analyses the Scottish government approach from inception to conclusion, and from procedures to outcomes. The reports commissioned by the Scottish government include a comprehensive review dedicated specifically to public health as well as reports on climate change, economic impacts, transport, geology, and decommissioning. All these reports are relevant to public health, and taken together offer a comprehensive review of existing evidence. The approach is unique globally when compared with UOGE assessments conducted in the USA, Australia, Canada, and England. The review process builds a useful evidence base although it is not without flaws. The process approach, if not the content, offers a framework that may have merits globally.
非常规油气开采（包括页岩气水力压裂）正在北美和澳大利亚和其他一些国家大规模进行。支持者认为这是全球能源需求的主要来源。批评者认为水力压裂和非常规油气开采是对全球、国家和地区公共健康和气候的直接和长期威胁。很少有政府将与水力压裂相关的直接和间接公共健康风险的相对详细评估汇集在一起，并权衡这些风险与潜在利益，以告知是否选择这条能源路线的全国性辩论。苏格兰政府现在在广泛的磋商中这样做了，该磋商以关于非常规天然气开采（包括水力压裂）的各种报告为基础。本文从开始到结束，从程序到结果，分析了苏格兰政府的方法。苏格兰政府委托编写的报告包括专门针对公共健康的全面审查报告，以及关于气候变化、经济影响、交通、地质和退役的报告。所有这些报告都与公共健康有关，它们共同提供了对现有证据的全面审查。与美国、澳大利亚、加拿大和英国进行的非常规油气开采评估相比，这种方法在全球范围内是独一无二的。审查过程建立了一个有用的证据基础，尽管它并非没有缺陷。如果不是内容，那么这个过程方法为全球提供了一个可能有价值的框架。
