The Pros And Cons Of Hydraulic Fracking

Hydraulic fracturing is also known as “fracking” is a technique which involves drilling down, then horizontally as far as 10,000 feet below the surface to release natural gasses stored in the sedimentary rock known as Shale. The channel is then encased with concrete or occasionally steel to allow millions of gallons of water to be injected into the wellbore. Most water used in fracking comes from surface water sources such as rivers, lakes, or other accessible bodies of water nearby. Not only is there water being funneled into the wellbore, but also a mixture of sand and other chemicals. When the high-pressure mixture is injected underground it fractures the Shale around the wellbore and creates fissures. The fissures are then held open with

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

The added chemicals help reduce problems such as a buildup of bacteria and mineral deposits (OSU). Fracking is a very water intensive process and uses up to four million gallons of fresh water for each well, and with about thirty-five thousand wells in the United States, fracking consumes the same amount of water as five million people (Schmidt). Most of the water used remains trapped down in the rocks where the natural gas previously was, but about thirty to seventy percent of the water resurfaces as what is called “flowback”. Flowback water is full of minerals, salts, and often times some radioactive materials.

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 actual technique involves “pumping a slurry of water, sand and chemicals underground to fracture shale formations and release hydrocarbons” ("Fracking", 2013, p. 276). Modern procedures use a high degree of manipulation in order to extract the natural gas. The natural gas from fracking is dispersed in rock, and can only be retrieved by using specialized removal techniques (Palliser, 2012). These specialized techniques have many unintended consequences. For instance, the current method of fracking may cause the issue of flowback. Flowback occurs when the internal pressure of the rock formation causes the injected watery, chemical mixture to return to the surface with other naturally occurring substances (Palliser, 2012). This flowback is often injected back underground or can be processed by wastewater treatment plants, where it is later discharged as surface water (Palliser, 2012). Indisputably, the disposal and generation of flowback is one of the main concerns regarding hydraulic fracking. The wastewater developed from fracking procedures is often inappropriately handled and is sometimes sprayed onto rural roads and forests (Finkel & Hays, 2013). As a result, the surface water may come in contact with living organisms and can cause a plethora of issues. For fracking opponents, their driving force is the ill effects of fracking on the environment and overall health. Similarly, the possibility of drinking or coming in contact with chemically laden byproducts

Natural gas is a fossil fuel that plays a critical role in the demand and supply of energy in the United States. It is considered to be a clean burning transition fuel. Compared to coal and oil, natural gas combustion does not generate as much pollution and is therefore considered an ideal partner for renewable energy resources. Natural gas is extracted from shale formations underground that require horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing – “hydrofracking” or “fracking”. This drilling and extraction method is currently considered a global widespread issue due to the rapid increase in the amount of new gas wells that threatens the quality of water around the source (Entriken, Evans-White, Johnson & Hagenbuch, 2011).

In the process of fracking, the first step is to drill a hole deep into the earth vertically and then to drill horizontally and put in a steel pipe. According to EnergyFromShale.org, water, sand and other chemicals are fed down a thin pipe, or surface casing at high pressure to create cracks in the ground to release any trapped oil. A ton of water is used in this process. EnergyFromshale.com states that almost one-hundred percent of the materials used is water and part sand. According to dangersoffracking.com, one to eight million gallons of water are used for just one fracture per day. It is also stated that forty thousand gallons of chemicals are used to help the flow of the water. That is an immense amount of materials

Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial topic that has a clear stigma associated to its name, creating issues to its feasibility. Regardless of the conventional uncertainties, prejudices, laws, regulation and environmental consequences that makes unconventional methods a bitter topic, the fate of hydraulic fracking is rather ardours due to the nature of the province and history behind it. The provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, carry an exclusive component that escalates the complications of hydraulic fracturing, and that is the fact that it is the traditional land and territory of the aboriginal people of Canada – The Mi’kmaq (pg.282). Nova Scotia alone, is currently the home of over 24,000 people and 13 communities of the Mi’kmaq and Aboriginal people (pg. 283), all of whom are protected by historical rights and treaties, whereupon the infringement of their rights could lead to serious consequences by the federal government of Canada (pg. 287) and the United Nations (pg. 285).

“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

“DEC 's own review identified dozens of potential significant adverse impacts of (fracking)” (Krisberg 18). There are some potential impacts in the fracking process, it will bring a lot of health risks to people. The major constituents of produced water are salt content, oil and grease, various inorganic and organic chemicals, and naturally occurring radioactive material. Salt content in produced water makes the freshwater to salt levels up higher than seawater. Oil and grease makes freshwater is getting oily. Various inorganic and organic chemicals are found naturally in the formation or are chemical additives used during drilling and operation of the well, such as benzene and methane. “Many of the fracking additives are toxic, carcinogenic or mutagenic” (Howarth, Ingraffea 272). This quote tells us that why fracking is contaminating the drinking water. Benzene are one major concern. “The state of Texas reports benzene concentrations in air in the Barnett shale area that sometimes exceed acute toxicity standards” (Howarth, Ingraffea 273). It shows benzene makes drinking water is getting contaminated. “Methane contamination of drinking water reservoirs has been documented in fracking-rich areas of the US. Leading to dramatic videos of seemingly ignitable tap water” (Benusic, 238). This quote tells us that the drinking water is getting contaminated by Methane is proved already. Radioactive material in

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

Fracking promoters say safe hydraulic fracking doesn’t threaten drinking water. They also disprove that the water used in hydraulic fracturing ends up as surface spills. There are three ways reported for waste water disposal including “injecting in permitted disposal wells in accordance with Underground Injection Control Regulations, delivered to water treatment facilities depending on permitting, and reused/recycled” (“Pioneering America’s Energy Future”). These three types of disposals are considered safe as long as agencies are regulating hydraulic fracturing companies carefully. The Oil and Gas Conservation Act makes oil and gas a state priority, allowing companies the legal right to fracture. It is harder to judge whether regulations are actually set in place when government wants to favor the creation of jobs and economic boost rather than worrying about the health of communities affected by

In this article, while an attempt is made to discuss some of the many adverse impact of fracking, consideration is given to focus discussion on wastewater management, its challenges and

While vertical wells do yield gas, they are mainly used as a base to connect several horizontal wells, which is where the money lies in the industry. After drilling, about “2 million to 10 million gallons of water [is used] to extract the gas” (Marsa 3-4). However, high pressured water alone will not break away the shale rock, therefore sand is added to enable further fracturing. The controversial issue fueling the debate is the third substances added to the water which allow the natural gas to escape for collection. “A cocktail of friction-reducing lubricants [are used] to make the water slick enough to slide through the pipes swiftly” (Marsa 4). A geochemist by the name of Tracy Bank conducted a study at SUNY Buffalo which concluded that the lubricant contained an abundance of toxic metals, “including uranium, barium, chromium, zinc and arsenic” (Marsa 2). This is just a short list of the negative compounds used in fracking. It is likely that the public will never get the full story as to the composition of the lubricants, as major fracking companies refuse to release that information, “claiming that doing so would reveal trade secrets” (Rahman 1). So where do these contaminants end up? After reaching the surface, the waste is emptied into tanks for storage. However, sometimes ponds are also used to hold the pollutants, therefore releasing the harmful toxins into runoffs. Once the gas has

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