The New York state health department said fracking for natural gas can't be done safely, dooming prospects that Gov.Andrew Cuomo will end a six-year moratorium.
Acting Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said at a Cabinet meeting in Albany on Wednesday that studies on the extraction technique's effects on water, air and soil are inconsistent, incomplete and raise too many "red flags" to allow.
"I consider the people of the state of New York as my patients," said Zucker, a medical doctor. "We cannot afford to make a mistake. The potential risks are too great. In fact, they are not fully known."