The Pros And Cons Of Fracking

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

Fracking is a process that involves combining water with various toxic chemicals to create frack fluid. This chemical is highly toxic and can return to the surface, polluting water and destroying ecosystems and communities. This article includes various facts and statistics of fracking’s effect on the environment. The evidence of its harmful effects is laid out in an easy to read and cite format. “Fracking’s Environmental Impacts: Water” will provide supporting

Fracking is proven to cause environmental contamination.Numerous reports have suggested that fracking techniques have caused water contamination. Methane gas, uranium, mercury ,and toxic chemicals such as lead leak out of the hydraulic fracturing system. And contaminates nearby groundwater. This water is used in the nearby cities and towns. Recent studies have shown, that 1,000 documented cases of water contamination were close to fracking sites. Although, the techniques that fracking uses are

Hydraulic fracking has been known to release ‘more than 650 chemicals”( source 3), because of this people who are living ‘near these wells fear their health may be harmed” ( source 3). Even though hydraulic fracking has not caused any known health problems there is still the threat that could come soon when more and more well build up. This could also harm the wildlife and could cause their habitat to be destroyed.

The issue of whether we should continue fracking without research has been widely debated around the world. The issue is important because it has fundamental environmental concerns and economic questions about the process of hydraulic fracturing. “Fracking” is the process of penetrating down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is absorbed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water, sand, and chemicals are then inserted into the rock with compression which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well. Fracking fluid, which can be polluted with heavy metals like arsenic, known human carcinogens, has seeped into local waterways and polluted groundwater. People who live near fracking wells have a heightened danger of developing cancer, asthma, and other serious ailments associated with inhaling or ingesting the toxic chemicals involved in the fracking process. Countries approach fracking and researching much differently from each other. The injection of fluid into shale beds at high pressure to extract petroleum resources has been happening across the United States of America at rapid pace. By 2003, a gigantic public relations campaign was launched to lobby Congress to pass what is

Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is the process that extracts oil and natural gas from under the ground. Today, it is a controversial issue that requires a lot of attention. It is a very important topic that has both its positives and its negatives. As Fracking grows and expands, people should start to consider the advantages and disadvantages of fracking and what it really means.

Introduction: In the kind of world we live in today, we are in dire need of oil. Our cars need oil, our buses need it, our planes and machines. Oil and gas production are very important in order for the many tasks we do day to day and we have become dependent on it. Fracking is a process that uses high pressure water and other chemicals to gather oil under the ground. Although fracking is a fantastic way to gather oil, there have been several problems that have been occurring. In Texas many jobs and drilling locations are appearing because of the high demand for oil. Fracking is a very good way to gather natural gas however, it is causing a lot of problems for society and the environment in Texas.

Another reason why the United States must make fracking illegal is because it can have a negative effect on water sources. During fracking, the fluid, which consists of over 596 toxic chemicals, is pumped into the ground, soon after, once all of the gas is extracted from the operation, some of that fluid stays deep underground, and becomes increasingly toxic as it comes picks up radioactivity, or other underground contaminants (White). These fluids can sink into aquifers and turn water into a noxious mix, even the water that comes back up is almost untreatable after coming in contact with these chemicals (Griswold). Although the dangers are well known, it is no surprise that water sources have already been contaminated due to inattentiveness.

“In addition to carbon pollution, fracking exploits massive amounts of methane pollution, which drive global climate change. Methane warms the climate approximately 80 times more than the equivalent of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.” This is a big problem which needs to

Researchers have found toxic chemicals in the air near fracking sites such as cancer-causing benzene. Benzene and chemicals that irritate eyes and cause headaches, sore throats, or difficulty breathing were found in air close to the wells. Emissions due to fracking from the wells include methane and volatile organic compounds that react with heat and sunlight to form ozone. A study in Fort Worth, Texas, released in July 2013 found air pollution levels above the state limits at five sites, and reported visible emissions at 296 of 388 gas wells that were examined. However, others may say that fracking is a safe technology that poses no threat to air quality. Ken Salazar, President Obama’s interior secretary, testified to Congress that hydraulic fracturing “has been done safely hundreds of thousands of times”. It is true that fracking has been done safely before, but there are many instances in which it is not done safely and dangerous chemicals are released into the air that are harmful to the environment and

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

Researchers say they found elevated levels of these chemicals, known as endocrine disrupting chemicals, in surface water and groundwater samples collected in the state's Garfield County where more than 10,000 gas wells exist (Mosbergen, 2013). A single well requires up to 7 million gallons of water, plus an additional 400,000 gallons of additives. These additives include lubricants, biocides, scale and rust inhibitors, solvents, foaming and de-foaming agents, emulsifiers and de-emulsifiers, stabilizers and breakers (Royte, 2012). At almost every stage of developing and operating an oil or gas well, chemicals can be introduced into the environment. While many people get sick from drinking water that turns out to be contaminated by fracking, cancer has not been proven to be caused by this but people living near a fracking well have been more likely to get

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of extracting natural gas from shale rock layers deep within the earth.The dangers of fracking are the chemicals that go into fracking and how much water is used and contamination of city water. Some dangers of fracking are water usage. They use 2 to 5 million gallons of water. Not all of the chemicals are recovered from the ground. We only know of 8 out of 600 chemicals. To many chemicals are used and some a harmful. Fracking water usage is too high for instance one well can use 144,000,000million gallons of water. 50%-70% of the fracking fluid is left in the ground and isn’t biodegradable. The waste fluid that is outside in the sunlight evaporates and releases volatile organic compounds(Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary room temperature. Their high vapor pressure results from a low boiling point, which causes large numbers of molecules to evaporate or sublimate from the liquid or solid form of the compound and enter the surrounding air.) Due to the VOCs acid rain, ground level ozone and contaminated air. Ground level ozone is bad, but ozone up high in the atmosphere protects the earth from the Sun’s harmful rays.

Another problem that we know exists with hydraulic fracturing is the contamination of the water, the ground, and the air around the sites (Goldman pg. 2). It has been shown that “…residents living near the hydraulic fracturing sites are increasingly worried that the drilling process might be contaminating their well water, polluting streams, and releasing toxic gases into the air (Hobson).” Water sources, as well as the soil, are often polluted from flowback fluid and from production brine (Hydro-Fracking pg.4). Flowback fluid is “the contaminated fluid that returns to the surface during the drilling process, and is estimated to be between 9% - 35% of the fluids injected during