Gas Sites Spur Air Fears

[phantom power]

The city of Fort Worth, Texas, one of the biggest beneficiaries in the natural-gas boom, is questioning its largely supportive stand of the industry after a study found high levels of hazardous chemicals in the air near production sites.

On Tuesday, Fort Worth's mayor said the city would follow up on the state-sponsored study with its own air-quality tests and could consider rewriting rules that allow drilling in residential neighborhoods.

"It's time we had some answers," Mayor Mike Moncrief said at a City Council meeting Tuesday evening.

The concerns over emissions come at a delicate time for natural-gas producers. New technologies have opened up huge new gas fields across the country, boosting U.S. supplies but also bringing drilling to areas such as Pennsylvania and New York that have seen little such activity for decades.

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