Thus, we implore you to provide an update on the status of the studies to the public as soon as possible. Community members have yet to hear directly from either the University of Pittsburgh or the Department of Health since the studies were announced. Given the importance of and the public interest in the results of these studies, the Department of Health must be transparent about their current status. Transparency is necessary to protect the credibility of the studies' results and taxpayers' investment.
The residents of the eight-county region included in the study deserve a status update regarding these taxpayer-funded studies designed to examine potential health impacts of human exposure to environmental risk factors, such as oil and gas development. We believe this update is an important step for community inclusion in the research process and that it will strengthen relations with the public, making it easier for researchers to communicate and conduct outreach around the studies' results.
Every day that our trusted health institutions do not provide information, residents and health providers are left in the dark. It is urgent that the Department issue an update as soon as possible. The timeliness of this status update is imperative, considering that more young people are being diagnosed with rare cancers in the studied communities, all the while the state continues to grant permits for pollution-emitting fossil fuel projects.