Monday, July 16, 2012

More Evidence That Fracking Not Harmful

It is very important to understand that every oil and gas well is different.  It is equally, if not more important to realize the geology of every area where these wells are being drilled is different.  There are a great number of variables affecting an area's groundwater and its usage.  There are many naturally occurring "contaminants" in ground water.  It is far from perfectly pure like the TV advertisements.  Because of all these variables, there is no "one-size fits all" definition of how a well can be drilled, horizontally or otherwise, fracked (the process of hydraulic fracturing of the underground rock formation) and used to produce oil and or natural gas.

The fact is, millions of wells have been drilled all over the United States, not to mention the world, millions(?) have been fracked, and very little of this activity has harmed the ground water being used for human activity.  The few horror stories occurred in the early stages of development, decades ago.  Even the terrible accident in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago is a rarity and occurred under unique circumstances.  Facts are facts.  If we can get past the politically-motivated, ideological fear-mongering taking place in the mass media, we'll see that fracking can be done in a safe and productive manner.
Peter

Duke study determines hydraulic fracturing likely had no role in elevated salinity of Marcellus area water

The underlying geology seems likely to be the cause of brine and methane migration into drinking water, as the Duke team found elevated levels of methane contamination in drinking water wells located within a kilometer of hydraulic fracturing, but found no evidence of contamination from fracturing fluids."These results reinforce our earlier work showing no evidence of brine contamination from shale gas exploration," said Robert Jackson, co-author of the study.  Article here


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