A public health expert from Pennsylvania will make a presentation in Chapel Hill tomorrow about his research and findings on the public health consequences of fracking for natural gas.

Trevor Penning, who studies how certain kinds of hydrocarbons cause cancer in humans, will speak at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Rosenau Auditorium. Penning is the director of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Pennsylvania.

The presentation is free to the public and sponsored by UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility.

Penning recently made a presentation on the same topic at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. He condludes that despite years of complaints, reported illnesses and other anecdotal information, there is a lack of research on the of the consequences of fracking on public health.

Penning's presentation is an overview of the potential health hazards that are suspected but not proven. That includes a focus on heavy industrial activity, which generates diesel fumes, ground-level ozone and other emissions that can exacerbate asthma and other conditions.

A federal agency based in Research Triangle Park is beginning a study to determine if cell-phone radiation causes cancer or other health hazards.

The National Toxicology Program expects to finish the study in 2012 and present its findings by 2014, associate director John Bucher told a Senate subcommittee in Washington today. The program is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The study will test laboratory animals using chambers designed to simulate radiation exposures of cell-phone users, Bucher said. The rodents will be exposed to radiation for up to 20 hours per day.

"With so many [cell-phone] users, this could translate into a potentially significant public health problem should the use of these devices even slightly increase the risk of adverse health effects," Bucher wrote in a prepared statement for the subcommittee.

Monday at a public hearing before to the Board of Commissioners on the proposed bio-defense lab for Butner, the Environmental Affairs Board presented a detailed report on its questions about the lab, and the unanswered concerns from the draft Environmental Impact Statement released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

I thought I would attach these documents (please excuse my highlighting) to let interested readers peruse them. There are several detailed concerns that are mentioned in the pages—too many to detail here.

The documents might offer a better explanation to readers, especially those who are confused by some of the details. These are great explainers.

Emotion was high during parts of Monday night's public hearing on a proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility that could come to Butner. County commissioners had asked for the input of several county officials, as well as the Environmental Affairs Board.

All entities reported to the commissioners last night, and we couldn't fit quite everything in today's story, so here are some additional highlights: