Posts tagged Fracking
Carcinogenic Chemicals Polluting Water Supply Through Fracking
Mar 12th
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World
Fracking has been known to be cause environmental and health damage. Doctors have begun warning the United States government along with gas and oil producers of the dangers revolving around fracking, with many on a quest to end fracking completely.
Fracking, or the act of pumping water and chemicals underground in order to facilitate the flow of oil or gas, is resulting in contaminated and polluted groundwater. Environmentalists and activists alike have long been trying to force oil and gas companies to disclose which chemicals are being used for their drilling and fracking process, but efforts have been less than successful. A 2011 congressional report states that many of the chemicals being used in the fracking process do pose a health risk, and so individuals should know exactly what chemicals are being used. Another report released by the Food & Water Watch states that the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is to become a global and environmental health threat.
Continue Reading – Carcinogenic Chemicals Polluting Water Supply Through Fracking
Doctors Urge US Government to Halt Fracking Over Health Concerns
Jan 16th
16th January 2012
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World
Doctors are warning United States government officials and gas producers about the dangers of hydraulic fracking, the controversial act of pumping water and chemicals underground in order to facilitate the flow of oil or gas. As previously admitted by the EPA, reports have revealed that fracking is leading to groundwater pollution that could be endangering your health.
Jerome Paulson, a paediatrician at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, is calling upon gas producers who are heavily involved in fracking to finance studies examining the safety of the process. Until then, he is calling for hydraulic fracking to come to a freeze. While there are many corporations involved with fracking, top independent producers include Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Devon Energy Corp., both of Oklahoma City, and Encana Corp. of Calgary.
Continue Reading – Doctors Urge US Government to Halt Fracking Over Health Concerns
Latest EPA Study: Ground Water Contamination “Consistent With” Fracking
Dec 16th
16th December 2011
By Pam Kasey - statejournal.com
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a draft analysis Dec. 8 of data of its investigation of groundwater quality in the gas fields of Pavillion, Wyo.
“The draft report indicates that ground water in the aquifer contains compounds likely associated with gas production practices, including hydraulic fracturing,” reads the agency’s media release.
The investigation in Pavillion, where natural gas has been produced since 1960 and Encana Oil and Gas conducted hydraulic fracturing while developing new wells between 2004 to 2007, has been seen as an important test of the gas industry’s assertions that there has never been an incident in which groundwater was contaminated by hydraulic fracturing.
EPA began investigating water quality concerns in Pavillion private drinking water wells three years ago at the request of residents.
Its draft report discusses two sets of monitoring data. Continue Reading – Latest EPA Study: Ground Water Contamination “Consistent With” Fracking
The US Federal Gov Knew: 50 Years of Fracking Induced Earthquakes
Dec 13th
13th December 2011
By Rady Ananda - Food Freedom
Washington’s Blog posted some info last August confirming that the US federal government has long known of the link between fracking and earthquakes, as well as the link between deep well fluids contaminating shallow drinking wells. As more info keeps coming out, this collection should serve as a handy resource for those confronting (or occupying) well sites or state regulatory agencies.
At a recent oil & gas conference, frackers urged colleagues to engage in psyops to con Americans into accepting carcinogenic drinking water and earthquakes as the price to pay for oil and gas. The Oil & Gas Accountability Project taped the speakers and turned it over to CNBC which posted the audio.
Continue Reading – The US Federal Gov Knew: 50 Years of Fracking Induced Earthquakes
Another Admission – UK Fracking Company Admits They Are Causing Earthquakes
Nov 15th
By Nick Jardine – businessinsider.com
Following seismic tremors in North-West England this Spring, the firm exploring for natural shale gas in the region has admitted that the disturbances were caused by the controversial exploration process of fracking.
Fracking involves cracking or fracturing rock, containing trapped shale gas, by using pressurized liquid. Shale gas is an increasingly important energy resource though there have been claims that it is worse for the environment than coal, largely due to the fracking process.
A press release from Cuadrilla Resources, who were responsible for exploration in the region, reported that:
“The hydraulic fracturing of Cuadrilla’s Preese Hall-1 well did trigger a number of minor seismic events.” “The seismic events were due to an unusual combination of geology at the well site coupled with the pressure exerted by water injection as part of operations.”
The company did add that the chances of such an occurrence happening again would be slim. It predicted that a worse case scenario would result in an earthquake measuring no more than 3.0 on the Richter Scale. Other European countries are also starting to look towards shale gas. Poland announced recently that it wanted to achieve “gas security” by 2035, shedding a dependence on Russian natural gas.
Continue Reading – Another Admission – UK Fracking Company Admits They Are Causing Earthquakes
CONFIRMED – Link Between Fracking and Earthquakes
Nov 11th
By. John C.K. Daly of Oilprice.com
On 5 November 2011 an earthquake measuring 5.6 rattled Oklahoma and was felt as far away as Illinois.
Until two years ago Oklahoma typically had about 50 earthquakes a year, but in 2010, 1,047 quakes shook the state.
Why?
In Lincoln County, where most of this past weekend’s seismic incidents were centered, there are 181 injection wells, according to Matt Skinner, an official from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the agency which oversees oil and gas production in the state.
Cause and effect?
The practice of injecting water into deep rock formations causes earthquakes, both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Geological Survey have concluded.
The U.S. natural gas industry pumps a mixture of water and assorted chemicals deep underground to shatter sediment layers containing natural gas, a process called hydraulic fracturing, known more informally as “fracking.” While environmental groups have primarily focused on fracking’s capacity to pollute underground water, a more ominous byproduct emerges from U.S. government studies – that forcing fluids under high pressure deep underground produces increased regional seismic activity.
As the U.S. natural gas industry mounts an unprecedented and expensive advertising campaign to convince the public that such practices are environmentally benign, U.S. government agencies have determined otherwise.
According to the U.S. Army’s Rocky Mountain Arsenal website, the RMA drilled a deep well for disposing of the site’s liquid waste after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “concluded that this procedure is effective and protective of the environment.” According to the RMA, “The Rocky Mountain Arsenal deep injection well was constructed in 1961, and was drilled to a depth of 12,045 feet” and 165 million gallons of Basin F liquid waste, consisting of “very salty water that includes some metals, chlorides, wastewater and toxic organics” was injected into the well during 1962-1966.
Continue Reading – CONFIRMED – Link Between Fracking and Earthquakes
France Bans Fracking as New York Prepares to Lift Their Moratorium!
Jul 1st
Pumped: Workers release carbon-dioxide vapor after 'fracking' a natural-gas well in eastern New Mexico
30th June 2011 – By scientificamerican.com
The French parliament voted on June 30 to ban the controversial technique for extracting natural gas from shale rock deposits known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the web sites of Le Monde and other French media reported.
The bill had already passed the National Assembly, the country’s lower chamber, on June 21, and on June 30 a Senate vote of 176 to 151 made France the first country to enact such a ban, just as New York State is preparing to lift a moratorium on the same method.
The vote was divided along party lines, with the majority conservative party voting in favor and the opposition voting against the bill, according to Le Monde. The Socialist Party, in particular, opposed the bill because it did not go far enough. The bill’s critics said that it left open possible loopholes and that in particular it does not prevent the exploitation of oil shale deposits by techniques other than fracking. An earlier version of the bill, which the Socialists had supported, would have banned any kind of development of the deposits, Le Monde reported.
Companies that currently own permits for drilling in oil shale deposits on French land will have two months to notify the state what extraction technique they use. If they declare to be using fracking, or if they fail to respond, their permits will be automatically revoked.
Fracking requires the injection of vast quantities of water and potentially hazardous chemicals into the ground to force the release of natural gas. The U.S. government is investigating the environmental impact of the technique, which critics say produces toxic waste and pollutes water wells.
New York Steps Closer to Allowing Hydrofracking
June 30, 2011 – scientificamerican.com
New York state would throw open its share of one of the world’s richest natural gas deposits to drilling under recommendations made by its environmental agency, creating a potential boom feared by environmentalists.
Continue Reading – France Bans Fracking as New York Prepares to Lift Their Moratorium!
