preview

The Pros And Cons Of Fracking

Decent Essays

Fracking is a controversial topic of discussion for a majority of people. Fracking is also known as hydraulic fracturing which is a method of extracting natural gas stored in shale rock. It involves forcing rock to fracture by pumping millions of liters of water and chemicals at extremely high pressure into the ground. The technique of fracking has been known since the 1940’s. Prices of natural gas and other fuels are rising steadily. Fracking has been used more than a million times in the USA alone.

First the shaft is drilled several hundred meters into the earth. From that a horizontal hole is drilled into the gas bearing layer of rock. Next, the fracking fluid is pumped into the ground using high performance pumps. The mixture penetrates into the rock layer and produces tiny cracks. The sand prevents the cracks from closing again. The chemicals perform various tasks, among other things they compress water, kill off bacteria, or dissolve minerals. Next, the majority of the fracking fluid is pumped out again. Now the natural gas can be recovered. As soon as the gas source is exhausted, the drill hole is resealed. The fracking fluid is pumped back into deep underground layers and sealed in. …show more content…

The primary risk is the contamination of drinking water resources. Fracking not only consumes large quantities of fresh water but in addition the water is contaminated and highly toxic. The contamination is so severe that the water cannot even be cleaned in a treatment plant. The chemicals used in fracking vary from hazardous to extremely toxic, such as benzene or formic acid. There are about 700 different agents that are used in

Get Access