A controversial and destructive new way of extracting natural gas, known as fracking, is threatening B.C.’s fresh water and the health of the residents of northern B.C.

Despite the fact that jurisdictions around the world have been taking measures to curtail fracking operations, in B.C. it’s open season. But this province’s gas boom could prove a bust for the environment and human health.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a process used to access gas trapped in hard shale rock formations. Companies inject vast amounts of fresh water laced with toxic chemicals into the earth to break up shale and release trapped gas.

Wherever fracking has been introduced, communities have reported negative impacts, including water pollution, sour gas leaks, habitat fragmentation, and declining health.

Over the past year, inquiries into the dangers of fracking have shed more and more light on the risks associated with this industry. However, it would seem that the B.C. government has turned a blind eye to the global reports because they are moving full steam ahead with a massive expansion of shale gas development in the province. A health review of this risky industry, which their very own government initiated, has not been given due attention and profile.

Earlier this month, Christy Clark’s re-announced her natural gas strategy, which focuses on exporting B.C.’s fracked gas to Asia via the energy intensive process known as liquified natural gas (LNG). The plan calls for a massive build out of fracking in the Horn River Basin and the Montney Shale play, a breakneck pace which could exhaust our 300 year supply of gas in just 30 to 40 years.

The expansion of the industry will move fracking into untouched wilderness areas and closer to people’s homes. The B.C. government is moving ahead with this inappropriately fast growth without doing any regional planning, and they do not seem to be adequately taking into account the concerns of people living in the region.

For years, residents of northern B.C. have raised the issue of their oil and gas-related health concerns; they need to be taken more seriously.

Last spring, environmental groups joined with local residents to call for a full public inquiry into the health impacts of the oil and gas industry in British Columbia. The government promised a review, and earlier this year they hired a consultant, for a cool $100,000, to examine this important issue.

The Fraser Basin Council is currently conducting the human health risk analysis, complete with a public comment period which ends on March 7.

Meanwhile, the B.C. government continues to boast about the good track record of fracking industry in B.C. They insist that B.C. “instituted some of the most stringent safety procedures in the world for natural gas development”.

But every day communities in B.C. face very real risks.

Just ask the members of the Fort Nelson First Nation, who are afraid to drink the water in their traditional territory because of the years of contamination from the oil and gas sector.

Or you could ask the small town of Pouce Coupe, where in 2009 a leak of deadly sour gas forced the entire community to evacuate. One person was hospitalized, and one horse was killed.

And then there are the risks to the workers in this industry. Over 30 people have died in B.C. and Alberta from exposure to deadly hydrogen sulfide, or sour gas. In small doses, it can cause headaches, lung damage, and nausea, and lead to miscarriages. Exposure in high doses can lead to death in humans and livestock.

In all cases, people living next to gas wells face very real threats, and they deserve adequate protection from their government.

The curious thing is that Christy Clark is not even waiting for the results of this inquiry before rolling out her natural gas strategy.

It is unacceptable that the B.C. government is blindly charging forward with aggressive expansion of the shale gas industry without a full understanding of the impact it is having on the health of British Columbians.

They need to know that putting a dirty fossil fuel industry ahead of people’s health is unacceptable.

Tria Donaldson is the Pacific coast campaigner for the Wilderness Committee. As a youth climate activist, she has been involved with the goBeyond project, the Sierra Youth Coalition, and the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition.