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Oil and natural gas companies have developed a way to drill for natural gas, a process called hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. Natural gas is a flammable gas mixture consisting of methane and several other hydrocarbons that occur naturally underground. Natural gas is used as fuel for heating, cooking, and even in some automobiles like the “RideOn” buses. This technique has only recently become economically feasible with the rising prices of fossil fuels, and there is much potential for recovering natural gas through fracking. However, fracking has many waste products and unusual side effects caused by the unnatural forces and materials used. Fracking has a detrimental effect on the surrounding environment through

The age demographic segment of oil and gas industry is normally people in their late 40s and early 50s. There is also a group of neophytes but there are very few people with ages between the two groups. Also, most of the people in this industry are highly specialty engineers with experience and skills to make important decision about drilling. There are also other specialty people in the business sides to vision and plan the competitive strategies to compete with other companies.

Hydraulic Fracturing is a process where high-pressure fracking fluids are forced into rich shale to extract natural resources. These fracking fluids are a mixture of proppants and “chemical additives such as surfactants, biocides, fiction reducers and other compounds meant to help in the process of freeing the trapped gas”. In addition, the million gallons of water injected along with the fracking fluids return as flowback water and this produced water have the “potential to mix with nearby aquifers and surface water”. As a result, there is a considerable amount of public concern about water contamination due to this process of hydrofracking (Thurman, Ferrer, Biotevogel & Borch, 2014).

“During the early 1900’s the discovery of oil and natural gas in areas around Baton Rouge attracted chemical companies to the city” (Reilly). Since the beginning of the 1900’s Louisiana has been a large refining state, one may say one of the best, but also one of the most damaging. It can be safely said that since the start of refining in Louisiana well over a billion pounds of pollution has been released. In 2011 alone over a million pounds of chemicals were released into the air and a separate 1.3 million had been released into the water. All of Louisiana’s 17 refineries reported accidents contributing to these chemical spills (Sturgis). The numbers that have been presented so far may not seem out of the ordinary

The list of ingredients used in fracking fluid is long and varied. Some are common, such as salt and citric acid, some are unexpected like coffee and walnut hulls, while others are toxic. A list released by a Congressional committee states

drilling process also uses various chemicals to extract the oil and natural gasses. Since fracking

The Gordalla et al paper is a toxicology study of the constituents of fracking fluids and flow back water and its impact on drinking-water wells. Data used in the study is based from ExxonMobil drilling sites in northern Germany. The paper relates to the New York Times article as they both tackle the question of the impacts of fracking on groundwater. The paper lists down the different chemicals used in fracking-fluid and ranks them by their projected

Crane-Murdoch, Sierra. "Unpacking Health Hazards in Fracking's Chemical Cocktail." High Country News. High Country News, 21 Feb. 2011. Web. 06 May 2013.

Fracking is a mining approach in which a well in drilled thousands of feet deep into the Earth for the express purpose of gathering oil and gas from fuel reserves deep within its crust. Essentially, drill teams pierce through the planets sediment layers, water table and shale rock formations before placing a casing of cement as a sort of access valve to the raw fuel. This casing also acts as a channel for colossal amounts of water, sand and 50,000 gallons of fracking fluid used to extract the fuel from its location in the Earth. Fracking fluid, an unregulated chemical cocktail consisting of Naphthenic Acidethoxylate or Poly (Oxy-`1,2-Ethanediyl), Alpha-(4-Nonylphenyl)- Omega-Hydroxy-, Branched and other undisclosed chemicals, is maybe the most controversial element of the fracking process. When these fluids are dispensed into a well, a plethora of chemical reactions occur allowing oil and gas to be separated from shale in the earth and collected in its raw forms, before being transported to facilities for refining. In many instances, explosives such as TNT are set off before these solutions are poured as a means of rupturing and clearing bedrock.

After graduating from North Carolina State University with my Bachelor’s in Environmental Technology and Management and a minor in Environmental Toxicology, I knew that I would want to spend the rest of my career being dedicated to the environmental field. With my grandfather and father working in the petroleum industry, the precedents set before myself, I knew I’d like to continue in the industry by combining my family’s history of working the petroleum pipeline industry, with my dedication to the environmental field. The events such as the Exxon Valdez spill and the Deepwater Horizon spill have driven me to want to learn more about the effects left on the environment in which it happened in and new

Toxic chemicals used in fracking need to be disclosed to allow for better monitoring and regulations. Drilling operations use chemicals in their water to allow for better flow and to obtain natural gas. These chemicals can be carcinogenic and need to be disclosed to the public so people know what is being used and injected into the ground (“Serious Risks of Fracking”). The chemicals used in fracking are toxic and need to be disposed of safely. Regulations on waste disposal also need to be updated to keep up with the gas and oil industry (“Fracking”). Toxic chemicals used in fracking can also leak and pollute the air which can cause difficulty breathing and severe headaches. The methane that is also extracted can leak and

In the United States, hydraulic fracturing, dubbed “Fracking”, has become more and more popular in recent years. The goal of fracking is drilling into the ground and extracting the oil and natural gas that lays beneath the earth. However, this has drawn a lot of controversy due to its negative impacts on the environment. One of the main concerns is during drilling, waste water that is produced can potentially go into nearby sources of drinking water. It has also been observed that earthquakes have happened near areas where fracking occurs. The opposition argues that the process does not lead to contamination because the drilling happens well below freshwater sources while the

The concern is that they will contaminate our groundwater, which is also our drinking water. But the chemicals used are not as scary as they are made out to be. One of those additives is simethicone. “It’s the same compound that is used in antacids”( Terry, Engelder 3). So if it’s safe to consume by humans, it is probably safe to use during fracking. Other chemicals that are used can be found in most households. To keep things safe Material Safety data sheet is required and can be found on FracFocus.org.

The majority of the chemicals that are used in fracking are proprietary but in a study conducted by the Congressional Committee on Energy and Commerce in 2011 found many dangerous chemical, some of which included; 2 butoxyethanol (2BE), formaldehyde, diesel oil, naphthalene, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene. These chemicals are all human carcinogens.

There is a revolutionary new method for natural gas extraction that was made in the 1950’s called fracking. This method has made thousands of people and companies rich. This method fracking has multiple components that go into its use that allow the operations to go on smoothly. One of these is the fracking fluid made from multiple possible dangerous, chemicals these chemicals are one of the reasons that fracking has the potential to be been banned in multiple countries. There are a few questions about fracking such as what chemicals are used in it to help better understand fracking? There is a debate to ban fracking because of concerns about chemical pollution in the water where it has been used live?