Drilling injuries
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In the gleeful and understandable rush to exploit the drilling boom in the Uinta Basin, I hope local governments will take heed of some of the boom's downsides.
For example, a recent New York Times article described how the drilling boom in North Dakota has overwhelmed local health providers with drilling-related injuries. The workers are generally uninsured, and they often disappear without paying any health-provider costs. The combined debt of the 12 medical facilities in the area has increased by 46 percent, one facility by 2,000 percent.
I see a lot of attention paid to transportation issues; I hope the leaders in the basin will also embrace and address social issues in a far-sighted way.
Kate Johnson
Salt Lake City