Scientists are getting to the bottom of what’s in fracking fluids — with some troubling results. Credit: Doug Duncan/U.S. Geological Survey.
Excerpts;
As the oil and gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing proliferates, a new study on the contents of the fluids used raises concerns over several ingredients.
The scientists say out of nearly 200 commonly used compounds in “fracking,” there’s very little known about the potential health risks of about one-third, and eight are toxic to mammals…
Read Full Article, Science Daily
EPA Implicates Fracking In Pollution, AP (12-11-2011)
On Fracking Front, A Push To Reduce Leaks of Methane (04-13-2014)
Scientists, engineers, and government regulators are increasingly turning their attention to solving one of the chief environmental problems associated with fracking for natural gas and oil – significant leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas…
Dangerous Levels of Radioactivity Found at Fracking Waste Site, Guardian UK (11-02-2013)
Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids Likely Harmed Threatened Fish Species, USGS (08-30-2013)
Hydrofracking, Water, Watersheds, and the Ocean (02-28-2011)
With hydrofracking, a well can produce over a million gallons of wastewater that is often laced with highly corrosive salts, carcinogens like benzene and radioactive elements like radium, all of which can occur naturally thousands of feet underground. Other carcinogenic materials can be added to the wastewater by the chemicals used in the hydrofracking itself.
The Ocean connects all things…
California City Becomes First To Vote To Ban Fracking (04-25-2014)
Sand mining Is Booming Along With Fracking, My San Antonio News (Uploaded 09-27-2011)
Fracking, the latest craze in the quest to produce oil and gas, has been blamed for environmental problems ranging from flammable tap water to minor earthquakes. Now a new risk is emerging: sand mining. To squeeze hydrocarbons out of shale through hydraulic fracturing of the rock, the process known as fracking, producers need to pump an enormous amount of sand into the ground…
