Scientists also concluded that a series of earthquakes in Youngstown, Ohio, were induced by underground wastewater injection. A recent study points to underground injection as a key factor in a 5.7 quake outside of Prague, Oklahoma, that did hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage to local homes. The greater problem, however, is earthquakes induced when the wastewater from fracking is disposed of in injection wells. There are reports from British Columbia and the United Kingdom that fracking has caused small earthquakes, so there is some risk from fracking itself. We simply cannot afford to use dangerous techniques like fracking to keep extracting more oil and gas. We need to leave 80 percent of proven fossil fuel reserves in the ground in order to have a reasonable chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change. Oil fracking in North Dakota is already yielding about half a million barrels of oil a day. This geological formation under the San Joaquin and the Los Angeles basins may hold a large amount of extraordinarily dirty, carbon intensive oil. In California, for example, oil companies are interested in using fracking and other dangerously extreme fossil fuel extraction methods in the Monterey Shale. Studies have shown that leakage rates of more than about 3 percent would make burning natural gas in a power plant even worse for the climate than burning coal.įracking also allows access to huge fossil fuel deposits that were once beyond the reach of drilling. Fracked shale gas wells, for example, may have methane leakage rates of as high as 9 percent. How does fracking worsen climate change?įracking often releases large amounts of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas that traps heat at least 87 times more effectively than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Air pollution caused by fracking may contribute to health problems in people living near natural gas drilling sites, according to a study by researchers with the Colorado School of Public Health.Ĥ. The pollutants in fracking water and flowback fluid can enter our air when waste water is dumped into pits and then evaporates. It can also increase ground-level ozone, a key risk factor for asthma and other respiratory illness. Photo courtesy Flickr/wcn247.įracking can release dangerous petroleum hydrocarbons, including benzene, toluene and xylene. Helen Boylan, Westminster associate professor of chemistry, who presented "Shale Happens: An Investigation of the Environmental Chemistry of Hydraulic Fracturing" at Westminster College. Samples of water before and after fracking, related to research by Dr. The water we use for fracking is permanently removed from our water supply - a serious problem, especially in western states, where water is an extremely precious resource. In fact, fracking waste water is so dangerous that it can't be reused for other purposes. A fracking boom in North Dakota, for example, has led to thousands of accidental releases of oil, waste water and other fluids, according to a ProPublica investigation.įracking can also expose people to harm from lead, arsenic and radioactivity brought back to the surface of the land with fracking flowback fluid. Water pollution from fracking can happen in variety of ways, including through surface spills and well casing failures. This problem has been highlighted by footage of people in fracked areas accidentally setting fire to methane-laced water from kitchen faucets. Water quality can also be threatened by methane contamination tied to drilling and the fracturing of rock formations. Evidence is mounting throughout the country that these chemicals are making their way into aquifers and drinking water. It routinely employs numerous toxic chemicals, including methanol, benzene, naphthalene and trimethylbenzene.Ībout 25 percent of fracking chemicals could cause cancer, according to scientists with the Endocrine Disruption Exchange. How does fracking contaminate our water?įracking requires an enormous amount of water - as much as 5 million gallons per well. And it's expanding into new areas, making states like California, New Mexico and Nevada increasingly threatened by a potential fracking boom.Ģ. states and is particularly widespread in North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Texas. It also pollutes our air, water and climate and endangers wildlife and human health.įracking has been documented in more than 30 U.S. Fracking breaks up rock formations to allow oil and gas extraction. But what is fracking, really? And what risks does it pose to our health and environment? Why do we believe fracking is so risky for our water, air, wildlife and climate that it should be banned?įracking is a method of oil and gas production that involves blasting huge amounts of water - mixed with sand and toxic chemicals - under high pressure deep into the earth. Fracking in the United States: 10 Key Questionsįracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is spreading across the United States.
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