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.
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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
Hydraulic fracking isn 't all good though, there are many controversial things about it. First off, water contamination is a hazard. There are many ways that the water supply could be contaminated by fracking. One way is by groundwater entering through cracks that fracking has made. The water solution that 's pumped into the ground is a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals. Water and sand make up 98% of the mixture, while the remaining 2% is chemicals. Although fracking companies have never realised the chemicals used, scientists studying wastewater have found many harmful additives. A few of these are benzene, toluene, and many acids, all of which pose huge threats to humans. For each fracking well, more than 8 million liters of
The job of fracking constitutes of gas being released to supply both Australia and overseas countries. Administrators and workers take this process seriously as every cubic foot of gas is measured and supplied. Although potential health problems have been recognized, the companies have been focusing on the collection grid and the and the shortage of regional community employees as only 2% of the workforce is applied for the job. Another economical factor is that Fracking is destroying jobs in other industries. These include manufacturing, tourism and agriculture as well as gas related fields. This caused a major problem in for farmers as they live on rent as well as the decrease of jobs is becoming difficult to maintain that wage. Furthermore, as the natural is supplied throughout the world, citizens must pay double or triple the prices in the upcoming years due to this fracking site.
It’s been over 65 years since fracking first began as a method of extraction by oil and gas companies, but the government has done little to regulate the catastrophic practice. How anyone could consider injecting tens of thousands of gallons of water and chemicals deep into the ground being a good idea is beyond me. Those chemicals include chlorine, acetone, benzene, formaldehyde, ammonia, and almost 600 other chemicals that fracking operations won’t even reveal to the public. These chemicals, despite denial by all major natural gas and oil companies that practice fracking, almost always end up in groundwater supplies. I’m sure you’ve seen at least one video online of someone who lives near a fracking site lighting the water coming out of their faucet on fire. Thanks to a ruling in 2005 under the Bush administration, fracking operations are exempt from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean
The greatest common concern on the subject today is water contamination. Individuals grew worried that the chemicals used to gather these natural resources will seep into the water and contaminate the United States. The water necessary to frack is gathered from rivers, lakes, ponds, and even aquifers. This is then combined with chemicals and pumped into the ground. Fracking was exempted from the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act and the chemicals used to frack are not tested frequently in our water (Lampe 34). Bordering on 20 to 40 percent of the water used to frack rises back up to the surface and is stored on site (Lampe 34). An
Fracking is a technique designed to get gas and oil out of shale rock in the earth. Natural gas has been used for light and heat for more than 100 years, natural gas is considered one of the cleanest fossil fuel but since it is a fossil fuel it is also a finite resource. Natural gas industry developed a new drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing also known as fracking . fracking is a means of extracting natural gases from shale. Tons of chemicals some toxic are mixed with large amounts of water and sand and pumped up to 8,000 feet under ground. The pressure fractures the shale and allows the gas to freely move.
Hydraulic Fracking is the act of shooting or drilling chemicals and liquids into the ground at a high speed in order to break the rocks and earth below. When you break the rocks, or fracture them, it releases the natural gas that is trapped inside. Fracking is a controversial topic, with benefits seen by some and devastating results seen by others. The state of Texas allows fracking, and it is a technique used all over the state. The Obama administration and the federal government believe that fracking can lead the country away from dependence on fossil fuels and into a new generation of clean energy. However, environmental agencies believe that fracking is just another energy source that is no better for the environment than coal, and leads to contaminated water. Fracking companies do not have to follow the Safe Water Drinking Act of 1974, whose purpose is to protect groundwater for the people.
Now I will introduce how fracking actually works. A shaft is drilled several hundred meters into the earth. Then, a horizontal hole enters gas bearing layer of rock. After this, fracking fluid enters using high performance pumps. This fracking fluid consists of water, sand, and chemicals. Then, this mixture goes into the gas layer and produces a ton of tiny
It is then mixed with between 1 and 8 million gallons of water and sand. This is called Fracking fluid. In the US right now there are around 500,000 active gas wells. A well can be fracked around 18 times, so altogether to run all the wells in the US, it would take 360 billion gallons of chemicals along with 72 trillion gallons of water. Of the fracking fluid used 50 -70% of it is left in the ground and the fluid is non bio degradable causing contamination to nearby groundwater and evaporating which releases volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere contaminating the air. One of the biggest arguments that people who are for fracking say that it is better as there are less Co2 emissions. Although this is true, during the fracturing process methane gas is used and if they don’t cap the wells properly, which although quite rare can happen, the methane gas can be released into the air causing multiple environmental hazards. So although they can argue that their Co2 emissions are lower, they use methane a gas that is much worse for the environment. The methane gas is also contaminating the water near the wells with water sources near the wells reportedly having 17 times higher methane concentrations than water sources not near the wells.
One of the most common arguments against fracking is that fracking should be banned being that it causes harmful effects on the human body. During the process of fracking, chemicals and methane gas are leaked out of the system and contaminate nearby groundwater. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the fact that their water has been contaminated so they end up drinking it and causes them to become ill. Due to people drinking this contaminated groundwater, “There have been over 1,000 documented cases of water contamination next to areas of gas drilling as well as cases of sensory, respiratory, and neurological damage due to ingested contaminated water” (“What Goes”). Exposure of fracking chemicals to humans can also causes reproductive issues. Out of the hundreds of chemicals used in fracking, “20 to 30% cause reproductive, mutagenic, or cancerous
Hydraulic Fracturing, also known as fracking, is directly linked to having effects on the environment and the overall public health. The debate on whether or not fracking is too harsh on the environment has been going on ever since the United States has increased its use of this process to obtain more natural resources. Hydraulic fracturing is also directly correlated to having effects on drinking water. The process of fracking includes the injection of water containing other chemicals into the ground to extract natural resources that would otherwise be more difficult to obtain (Hydraulic Fracturing Overview, 2012). Although the process of fracking has resulted in an increase of natural resources, such as natural gas and oil, public health and environmental concerns have arisen. This topic has been the discussion of many people and whether or not there should be some form of government regulation in place, as it is nonexistent to this day. With that said, hydraulic fracturing in the United States has more negative effects on drinking water and the environment over time and should not be used as a means to obtain natural resources.
The mismanagement of the practice has the potential to create environmental damage such as water contamination, radioactive spills, and increased seismic activity that could cost thousands in dollars in damage. Furthermore, the unintended consequences of fracking can have detrimental effects on the environmental. The potential for water contamination can pose both an immediate and long term risk to environmental stability, including landscape distortion, inhabitability and ecological displacement. This contamination of drinking water can also be detrimental to the human environment, limiting the amount of safe water available for both the residential and commercial human environment. With the increase of fracking, the level of disapproval for the practice has only mounted. Concerns including overconsumption of
Opposition to fracking has been considerable, focusing on potential environmental consequences. The fracking mixture contains acids, detergents and poisons that may contaminate groundwater. Methane gas can escape out of the well creating a possible explosion danger, as well as contributing to global warming. Water waste from the well carries radioactive elements and large concentrations of salt, referred to as brine. The brine can be detrimental to the environment if not disposed of properly and in rare cases has been linked to small earthquakes when injected back into the deep wells for disposal.
Hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, is the process of removing oil and natural gas from in between layers of shale and other low-permeability rocks. This is done by drilling both a well and a horizontal tunnel. Sand and chemicals are shot through the tunnel with incredible pressure, which cracks the shale allowing the oil and natural gas to travel up the well (Jackson, 2014). Fracking has caused a breadth of controversy due to the economic benefits and the geological consequences.
“Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well.” (Megan Caponetto and Tom Schierlitz, BBC UK, What is fracking and why is it controversial?, 12/16/15). I went with this BBC quote because it’s challenging to find a proper definition without bias. From what I’ve seen and heard, to frack they drive multiple tanker trucks into the area filled with a mixture of water and
The site of hydraulic fracturing wells, and ground water are at different layers of ground. Many companies to curtail any amount of contamination that may happen drill 1,000 feet, or lower, to ensure contamination does not happen. The pipes, and equipment, that is used during hydraulic fracturing practices are also routinely checked for any leaks. Also, in the past few years only a handful of leaks have happened among hundreds, perhaps thousands, of fracking operations. To add, many residents in various cities have experienced flammable water. Flammable water was occurring before fracking had started, so this should not be a reliable source as to why fracking should not happen. All things considered, yes fracking operations have contaminated water, but have done in limited incidents.