Dear Friends, 

As a physician, I care deeply about the health of our community, and much of our health is tied to the environment that we live in: ensuring that the air we breathe, water we drink, and food we eat are clean and safe. For these reasons, I’m announcing my support for a ban on hydraulic fracturing. 

“Fracking,” as its commonly known, is the process of injecting a liquid mixture of sand and chemicals at high pressure deep into the ground in an effort to mine trapped oil and natural gas. The modern process of fracking is only about five years old. 

Although there has been a sharp rise in the use of fracking in other states, there are a growing number of reports that question the safety of this practice. These include: 

• Water and chemicals injected into wells contain carcinogens and other dangerous pollutants that leak into groundwater and contaminate drinking water sources
• Small earthquakes that likely result from injecting millions of gallons of wastewater deep into the ground
• Radiation released as radon gas and radioactive wastewater emitted during fracking
• Reports of flammable tap water from nearby homes
• People with symptoms of poisoning as well as skin irritation and rashes
• Diversion of large amounts of water required for the fracking process

There is little doubt that fracking has been successful in the mining of wells in areas that were previously inaccessible and has led to a substantial increase in the supply of oil and natural gas, but this might be coming at a considerable cost to the well-being of our community. 

Fracking is a novel technology whose safety is yet unproven, and as a result, I am unwilling to subject our communities to what amounts to a large-scale experiment. Until there is more evidence gauging its health and environmental impact, I am supportive of a prohibition on fracking throughout the State of Maryland.

Sincerely,

Clarence Lam, MD, MPH
Candidate for State Delegate
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PS:  Please remember to RSVP for my evening reception on Monday, Sept. 23 at 5pm in Columbia with special guest Del. Dan Morhaim, MD--the General Assembly's only physician legislator. Click here for more details.  To RSVP, reply to this e-mail.

Authority:  Friends of Clarence Lam  |  Melissa A. Tarkett, Treasurer