Fracking Environmental Concerns
Many people have claimed that fracking directly damages the environment. These claims are currently being disputed but there have been a number of studies that suggest that there might be enough of an environmental effect that people might want to err on the side of caution. The concerns that are chiefly mentioned concern water and air quality.
Natural gas is known as the cleanest burning fossil fuel. A deeper look into exactly how natural gas is mined, however, begins to deconstruct the argument that natural gas might act as an environmental boon. Fracking sites have been found to contain severely elevated levels of toxic emissions within the air, such as volatile organic compounds or VOCs. In fact, fracking and oil industries are the leading producers of VOCs within the United States. VOCs are both dangerous to human health and the environment.
Potential methane leaks from natural gas capturing and processing plants would actually result in natural gas no longer emitting less carbon dioxide than coal. The fracking industry alone emits 40% of methane gas released by the United States.
Another major concern that has been raised about fracking is the number of, type of and effect of the chemicals in the fracking solution. Out of a total of just over seven hundred and fifty chemicals used in fracking by at least fourteen major oil and gas companies, twenty-five of the chemicals used, from 2005 to 2009, are listed as hazardous pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Nine of the total chemicals are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act and twenty-nine are known or possible human carcinogens or health hazards. However, hydraulic fracturing was made exempt from the Clean Water act by Congress in 2005.
It is important to keep in mind that when the Clean Water Act exemption was passed, lawmakers and researchers alike believed that only 30% of fracking fluid would remain underground; it is now known that the amount could be up to 80%. Water around drill sites was labeled safe for consumption in an early EPA study but, recently, they have determined that this study may be flawed and have decided to launch another investigation. There have been many reports of poor water quality in fracking sites, ranging from grimy water to flammable water. A separate study of sixty-eight wells in the states of New York and Pennsylvania reported that “methane contamination rose sharply with proximity to natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing sites." Methane was even found at hazardous levels in shallow groundwater sites. This has raised concerns about how fit this water is for human and environmental use. While the amount of the fracking fluid that remains in the ground varies by location, it is likely in the regions residing on the Marcellus Shale that up to three quarters of the fluid will be left in the ground.
Natural gas is known as the cleanest burning fossil fuel. A deeper look into exactly how natural gas is mined, however, begins to deconstruct the argument that natural gas might act as an environmental boon. Fracking sites have been found to contain severely elevated levels of toxic emissions within the air, such as volatile organic compounds or VOCs. In fact, fracking and oil industries are the leading producers of VOCs within the United States. VOCs are both dangerous to human health and the environment.
Potential methane leaks from natural gas capturing and processing plants would actually result in natural gas no longer emitting less carbon dioxide than coal. The fracking industry alone emits 40% of methane gas released by the United States.
Another major concern that has been raised about fracking is the number of, type of and effect of the chemicals in the fracking solution. Out of a total of just over seven hundred and fifty chemicals used in fracking by at least fourteen major oil and gas companies, twenty-five of the chemicals used, from 2005 to 2009, are listed as hazardous pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Nine of the total chemicals are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act and twenty-nine are known or possible human carcinogens or health hazards. However, hydraulic fracturing was made exempt from the Clean Water act by Congress in 2005.
It is important to keep in mind that when the Clean Water Act exemption was passed, lawmakers and researchers alike believed that only 30% of fracking fluid would remain underground; it is now known that the amount could be up to 80%. Water around drill sites was labeled safe for consumption in an early EPA study but, recently, they have determined that this study may be flawed and have decided to launch another investigation. There have been many reports of poor water quality in fracking sites, ranging from grimy water to flammable water. A separate study of sixty-eight wells in the states of New York and Pennsylvania reported that “methane contamination rose sharply with proximity to natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing sites." Methane was even found at hazardous levels in shallow groundwater sites. This has raised concerns about how fit this water is for human and environmental use. While the amount of the fracking fluid that remains in the ground varies by location, it is likely in the regions residing on the Marcellus Shale that up to three quarters of the fluid will be left in the ground.