Fracking occurs when “water wells become plugged up with sand and other minerals. A machine is brought in to inject water into the well at extreme pressure to blow out the tiny cracks and fissures in the rock through which the water flow.” (Fracking Threatens Everyone) Completely harmless. Or so it seemed at that time. Today dealing with increased pollution, it contaminated this ‘wonderful’ thing. “Fracking injects large quantities of water under great pressure with sand and many toxic chemicals mixed in. Many of these are can cause cancer…Unfortunately, when fracking goes wrong, sources of drinking water ca be ruined and all different types of pollution can happen in a second.” (Fracking Threatens Everyone) Just like that, in a blink of an eye, something wonderful was turned around and causes more problems than we can…
Fracking wells inject water, sand, and chemicals deep into the ground to mine natural gas. Runoff from this process inevitably ends up in groundwater systems. It takes 360 billion gallons of harmful chemicals to run all of the fracking wells in The U. S. If leaked, respiratory, sensory, and neurological…
During the process in which the fracking solution is forced into the ground at high pressures, occasionally toxic fluids can leak out from the system and contaminate nearby drinking water. Environmental studies have concluded that methane concentrations are seventeen times higher in drinking water wells near fracturing sites. There are at least 1,000 documented cases of water contamination next to fracking areas as well as cases of sensory, respiratory, and neurological damage due to ingested contaminated water. Up to six hundred chemicals are used in the fluid solution they send into the ground, including carcinogens and toxins such as uranium, methanol, mercury, hydrolic acid, ethylene, glycol, and formaldehyde. When they bring the fracturing fluid back up after fracturing the shale rocks, to release the natural gas, only thirty to fifty percent of it is recovered. The waste solution recovered is then left in open air pits to evaporate, releasing harmful VOC’s (volatile…
Thesis: There is major debate both for and against using the fracking method to extract natural gas from the ground, but I propose that the federal government establish, monitor, and regulate environmental and health risks, and then create a minimum standard which the states are required to follow. Background: In the 1940’s the Halliburton Corporation developed a process to revitalize well production and prolong the life of wells nearing the end of their production cycle. The fracturing process, called “fracking”, pumps a mixture of water and sand, along with some chemical additives, at high pressures to create additional fractures in the sedimentary rock.…
will be, policy must be put in place to ensure the potential damage to local communities is…
Hydraulic Fracturing or fracking was first introduced in 1940s and has then been a key provider of natural gas and oil worldwide. Despite its expansion and customary use, fracking still poses many health and environmental concerns. During fracking, pressurized liquids are injected into drilled wells, which cause the surrounding rock to crack open allowing gas and oil flow through the fissures. Millions of gallons of water are used and a similarly large volume of waste water is generated. Most of the water is never restored and the stored waste water and fracking fluid can adversely affect the animals and vegetation around it. Along with the water, other chemicals are injected into the ground as far as 10,000 feet below the surface and enter groundwater, polluting drinking sources for many. Fracking may be a key provider of oil but this expensive, polluting, low energy-return process is not worth the loss of wildlife habitat, natural land and innumerable water resources.…
Despite nations across the world placing restrictions on fracking, or banning the process altogether, the increase in human induced hydraulic fracking as we have seen in recent years in the search for cleaner forms of energy may cause even greater environmental…
Being as though fresh water is already an issue tainting nearly the whole planet, one would assume that there would be a serious effort to prevent further contamination of the water supply. Source C also explains how the chemicals used for fracking aren’t human-friendly which can lead to mutations in the skin. Finally, Source C touches open the emission of greenhouse gases. The release of such gases is harmful to our already deteriorating ozone layer. Other cons of fracking are explored in source B would be pollution associated with the process of fracking from the noise of fracking and the process itself.…
While fracking accidents are mostly harming the animals, fracking also pollutes the water, consequently people are noticing a huge change in water quality. Fracking contaminates the water in a very obvious way. Fracking could had been done only using water and clean sand. However to make the job easier and cheaper, the process includes many other 596 or more chemicals, many were harmful and some were unknown. Even though the fluid used in the process is pumped out after doing its job, it's impossible to get it all out. People found black grease, odors, methane, a gassy taste, and black sediments in their drinking water after the…
A controversial new method of extracting natural gas from the earth has become a danger for Americans. This method is called Hydraulic Fracturing, or Fracking. This drilling has made it possible to retrieve methane gas trapped in the shale rock that lays thousands of feet below the ground. For some, fracking can be seen as a good thing for our country. Fracking is boosting the nation’s economy, creating jobs and energy export opportunities, and strengthening the energy independence of the United States. Although it may help in some aspects, it comes at a very high cost to the American people. Fracking is extremely harmful to the water supply, the environment, and the population.…
Hydraulic fracturing uses many chemicals that can cause serious medical problems including cancer, and fracking may pollute drinking water for civilians. The mixture of substances that fracking uses contains "more than 650 chemicals that can cause cancer" (Source 3). Cancer is a major problem and is a medical problem that needs to be resolved. Having a method that could cause cancer being used around the US is not something that should be supported. In addition to major health concerns like cancer, hydraulic fracturing may leak “harmful…
However, “Up to forty thousand gallons of chemicals are used in each fracking operation, containing a toxic bath of 600 chemicals like mercury and uranium.” (Salmon City Post 35). After, “the shale rocks surrounding wells are fractured, methane gas and toxic chemicals flow into nearby ground water.” (Salmon City Post 35). Some studies show that the methane concentrations in drinking water wells are over 17 times higher near fracking sites. (Salmon City Post 35). Among, not only hurting the people, but hurting animals by taking their homes, polluting their water supply, and taking down their food supply.…
Fracking has been a worldwide talk for a couple years on whether it is efficient to get the oil and gas from the Earth or non efficient. A way that it would be non efficient is that it has many negative effects against the Earth. Especially to the environment and people’s health. Many people have taken notes of these effects, and are now nervous or not on board with the concept. A solution that would get people on board with fracking is to make sure that it is done in a clean and efficient way.…
On every fracking site, 8 million gallons of water and 40,000 gallons of chemicals are used each day. In addition, these chemicals are injected 10,000 feet into the ground. This interesting statistic calls attention to the dangers of contamination and pollution that fracking brings to local communities and residents. A PhD recipient from Duke University, Dr.Richard Anderson, claims that the federal government needs to have certain limitations on national fracking protocol. Otherwise, he argues greater environmental issues with the oil and gas industries may arise. Many recent articles and research have agreed with Dr. Anderson in the conclusion that water contamination and greater health risks may occur if the government does not provide a solution. The Texas legislature should ban or minimize fracking in specific areas of Texas, which includes Forth Worth where there are 12,000 fracking wells. The reasons are because fracking causes contamination in groundwater and the atmosphere, uses chemicals that are unsafe and toxic, causes health risks to many residents, and causes earthquakes.…
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, from oil and gas operations has damaged Pennsylvania’s water supplies 209 times between 2008 and 2014. Some in Bradford County, PA are drinking methane-filled water that can be lit on fire with one flick on a lighter. Why is fracking allowed if it endangers people’s health and the environment? One major reason is the positive impacts fracking has on the economy. Counties in Pennsylvania that have natural gas wells have performed better economically than those that don’t have wells. Between 2007 and 2011, the per-capita income in counties with more than 200 wells has increased by 19%. On the other hand, the counties with 20-200 wells have had a per-capita income increase of 14%, and counties with less than 20 wells have had a per-capita increase of…