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What's Killing Babies in Vernal?

InSapphoWeTrust via CC/Flickr, http://bit.ly/1G5X8TC

Donna Young didn’t plan to raise a racket about fracking. She’s a midwife in Vernal, where the oil and gas industry is the economic engine. But in recent years, Young started seeing problems with the babies she delivered. More and more were stillborn, and Young was concerned fracking was to blame. Her suspicions have made her pariah in town. In an article for Rolling Stone, reporter Paul Solotaroff explores Young’s story and the problem of infant deaths in Vernal. He joins us Wednesday to talk about it.

NOTE: Today's show is the first in a series examining the possible connection between infant deaths in the Uinta Basin and fracking in the area. In future shows, we'll hear from other interested parties, likely including epidemiologists and industry and state representatives.

Paul Solotaroff is a senior writer at Rolling Stone and Men's Journal magazines. His article "What's Killing the Babies of Vernal, Utah" appears in the July 2 issue of Rolling Stone.

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
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