"New Study Finds Elevated Cancer Rate in Flower Mound"

"A study by a University of Texas at Austin researcher raises concerns about whether current gas drilling regulations protect public health and questions a state study that found no link between cancer rates and gas drilling in Flower Mound.

“Claims of adverse health effects have been dismissed as anecdotal evidence,” said Rachael Rawlins, author of the study that analyzed air-quality monitoring and regulation and the health effects of hydraulic fracturing in the Barnett Shale. “We really don’t have enough information to dismiss people’s concerns.”

Rawlins, a faculty member in the Community and Regional Planning Program at UT’s School of Architecture, said state and federal regulations do not effectively address the impact of cumulative emissions in urban areas.

Her study reviewed a Texas Department of State Health Services study, released in 2010, that found no evidence of a cancer cluster in Flower Mound."

Wendy Hundley reports for the Dallas Morning News March 31, 2014.