Canaries in the fields: the blue-eye cows Blue-eye cows ? Cool. maybe the oil companies want to create them intentionally. A study from two scientists at Cornell University: "In addition to humans, the animals affected were: cows, horses, goats, llamas, chickens, dogs, cats, and koi. [...] Because production animals were exposed to the environment for longer periods and in greater numbers than companion animals, and because most of the farms we documented raised beef cattle, cows were represented to a greater extent than other animals. Exposures through well water, ponds, springs, dumping of waste later into creeks, and spills or leakage of wastewater from impoundments were believed by farmers to result in deaths over time periods typically ranging from one to three days, with cows going down and unable to rise despite symptomatic treatment. The most commonly reported symptoms were associated with reproduction. Cattle that have been exposed to wastewater (flowback and/or produced water) or affected well or pond water may have trouble breeding. When bred cows were likewise exposed, farmers reported an increased incidence of stillborn calves with and without congenital abnormalities (cleft palate, white and blue eyes). In each case, farmers reported that in previous years stillborn calves were rare (fewer than one per year). In most cases where diagnostics were pursued, no final diagnosis was made; in other cases, acute liver or kidney failure was most commonly found. Of the seven cattle farms studied in the most detail, 50 percent of the herd, on average, was affected by death and failure of survivors to breed. In one case, exposure to drilling wastewater led to a quarantine of beef cattle and significant uncompensated economic loss to the farmers. The most dramatic case was the death of 17 cows within one hour from direct exposure to hydraulic fracturing fluid. The final necropsy report listed the most likely cause of death as respiratory failure with circulatory collapse. The hydraulic fracturing fluid contained, among other toxicants, petroleum hydro-carbons and quaternary ammonium compounds (tetramethylammonium and hexamethylenetetramine). Although petroleum hydrocarbons were reported to be found in the small intestine, lesions in the lung, trachea, liver and kidneys suggested exposure to other toxicants as well, and quaternary ammonium compounds have been described as producing similar lesions [37]. Two cases involving beef cattle farms inadvertently provided control and experimental groups. In one case, a creek into which wastewater was allegedly dumped was the source of water for 60 head, with the remaining 36 head in the herd kept in other pastures without access to the creek. Of the 60 head that were exposed to the creek water, 21 died and 16 failed to produce calves the following spring. Of the 36 that were not exposed, no health problems were observed, and only one cow failed to breed. At another farm, 140 head were exposed when the liner of a wastewater impoundment was allegedly slit, as reported by the farmer, and the fluid drained into the pasture and the pond used as a source of water for the cows. Of those 140 head exposed to the wastewater, approximately 70 died and there was a high incidence of stillborn and stunted calves. The remainder of the herd (60 head) was held in another pasture and did not have access to the wastewater; they showed no health or growth prob - lems. These cases approach the design of a controlled experiment, and strongly implicate wastewater exposure in the death, failure to breed, and reduced growth rate of cattle."
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 17:36:26 +0000
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