Fracking Expansion and Emerging Health Crisis in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta

In the Argentine Patagonia town of Allen, residents of Calle Ciega 10 have reported a surge of severe health problems—including migraines, skin irritation, cancers, congenital abnormalities, miscarriages and stillbirths—since a fracking well was drilled near their homes about 13 years ago. The well stopped operating in 2019, but activity resumed in May this year, reigniting community concerns about contamination of the pond that supplies their daily water.

The Guardian

Vaca Muerta, spanning more than 11,500 sq mi across four provinces, holds the world’s second-largest shale-gas reserve and fourth-largest shale-oil reserve. Fracking began in 2012 under the administration of Cristina Kirchner and has accelerated under President Javier Milei, with production records broken by the end of 2025. The region hosts over 2,600 active wells. According to a report from the NGO OpSur, 33 % of unconventional gas and 39 % of unconventional oil extracted in Vaca Muerta are controlled by the state-owned energy company YPF, while the remainder is operated by foreign firms such as Chevron, TotalEnergies and Shell.

The Guardian

Local families describe a pattern of illnesses that they attribute to fracking-related pollution. Roxana Valverde, a long-time resident, notes multiple cancer cases, pregnancy losses and birth defects among neighbours. Researchers at OpSur, including Alan Rocha Varsanyi, stress the lack of medical and scientific research to quantify the health burden. Indigenous Mapuche communities, represented by leaders such as Lorena Bravo Maripe, also report cancers, respiratory problems and livestock abnormalities. Medical professionals, like Silvia Ávila, dean of the faculty of medicine at the National University of Comahue, call for systematic health monitoring and transparent reporting from both the state and companies.

The Guardian

Neuquén prosecutor Maximiliano Breide Obeid, heading the environmental offences unit, has opened a case linking nearby toxic-waste storage to immediate health dangers, citing forensic medical reports that identify heavy metals (barium, cadmium, lead, copper, mercury, arsenic) as potential causes of respiratory, skin, neurological, stomach and kidney disorders, as well as cancer and miscarriages. Health ministers in Neuquén and Río Negro have declined comment, and the companies YPF, Chevron, TotalEnergies and Shell have not responded to interview requests. The prosecution also highlights that residential plots are being developed within dozens of metres from the Comarsa waste dump, intensifying community alarm.

The Guardian

• “There have been cases of cancer, and several women had to move away because they could not carry their pregnancies to term. They kept losing their babies. Some were born with illnesses, or died shortly after birth,” — Roxana Valverde

The Guardian

• “We lack medical and scientific research,” — Alan Rocha Varsanyi, a researcher at OpSur

The Guardian