One concern that environmentalists have with regards to hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, is the threat that underground aquifers could be contaminated, endangering drinking water supplies. And a new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has demonstrated just that.

One particular fracking technique is the most concerning. High volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) is responsible for the global fracking boom. Fracking consists of fracturing rocks with a pressurized liquid by injecting a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals into deep rock formations in order to allow gas reserves to migrate to a well.

Fracking has changed the face of the industry by making it cost effective to reach natural gas hidden deep below the surface of the Earth and embedded in rocks. But the recent study shows how Marcellus Shale gas wells in Pennsylvania caused natural gas and foam contamination in potable water destined for several households in the area.

The cause of the contamination is most likely stray natural gas and drilling compounds that made their way into the rock fractures and from there, into the deep water aquifers. These deep water aquifers are the source of drinking water for a number of Pennsylvania households.

Such contamination has the potential to contaminate a large quantity of drinking water and make a lot of people sick, especially considering that, as of 2013, at least 2 million gas wells in the U.S. had been fractured and these wells makeup 43 percent of oil and 67 percent of natural gas production in the U.S.

“The fact is that oil and gas drilling and fracking are poorly regulated and inherently risky. This new study, released today, drives home both of those unfortunate truths, with what EWG fears could be the first of many more signs showing threats to our drinking water,” Thomas Cluderay, general counsel for Environmental Working Group said in a statement. “We need robust regulations and more studies to better understand and address the risks associated with these chemicals.  We also need to move away from an economy based on fossil fuels and towards one based on renewable energy supplies.”

Fracking has created such an economic boom that the industry hopes consumers will turn a blind eye to the environmental repercussions. But it’s much harder to look away when contaminated drinking water and mini earthquakes start to happen in your neck of the woods. It’s easy to take our clean drinking water for granted until something like this serves as a reminder as to what can happen if we don’t protect it. It’s one more reason why at this stage in the game we should be moving away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy. Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of fracking before it’s too late.

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New York state’s environmental commissioner Joseph Martens said he will ban hydraulic fracturing in New York. The decision comes in response to a 5-year study done by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Martens says that the practice of high volume hydraulic fracturing will be prohibited.

“I will then issue a legally binding findings statement prohibiting (fracking) in New York state at this time,” Martens said at Governor Andrew Cuomo’s year-end cabinet meeting.

State health commissioner Howard Zucker gave a detailed presentation on why fracking was too risky for the state. Zucker said he would not allow his family to drink tap water in an area where there was fracking.

“The bottom line is we lack the comprehensive longitudinal studies, and these are either not yet complete or are yet to be initiated,” Zucker said, reported on Syracuse.com. “We don’t have the evidence to prove or disprove the health effects. But the cumulative concerns of what I’ve read gives me reason to pause.”

Zucker said that the study showed the harmful impacts of fracking and additionally, there were not enough longterm studies to know what would happen in the future. Martens named a variety of reasons for the ban including the potential pollution of groundwater and the release of methane and ozone.

Governor Cuomo said he would defer to Martens with regards to the decision though he expects lawsuits to be filed as a result of the prohibition.

According to the report:

“The overall weight of the evidence from the cumulative body of information contained in this Public Health Review demonstrates that there are significant uncertainties about the kinds of adverse health outcomes that may be associated with HVHF, the likelihood of the occurrence of adverse health outcomes, and the effectiveness of some of the
mitigation measures in reducing or preventing environmental impacts which could adversely affect public health,” Zucker wrote. “Until the science provides sufficient information to determine the level of risk to public health from HVHF to all New Yorkers and whether the risks can be adequately managed, DOH recommends that HVHF should not proceed in NYS.”

The long awaited study which led to the ban will be released at the end of December.

I’ve written before about the environmental concerns with fracking. For example, the chemicals used in fracking can be mixed with gas and released into the environment in the form of methane. Not to mention that the heavy duty equipment used to fracture wells may cause devastation to delicate eco-systems. Like in Oklahoma, for example, where 2,500 earthquakes are being blamed on fracking and the destruction of rock formations.

“I will be bound by what these experts say because I am not in a position to second guess them with my expertise,” Cuomo said. “I am not a scientist.”

So at least in the near future, New York state residents caught a break. No fracking in this great state.

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It’s called hydraulic fracturing or fracking for short and it consists of fracturing rocks with a pressurized liquid by injecting a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals into deep rock formations in order to allow gas reserves to migrate to a well.

As of 2013, at least 2 million gas wells in the U.S. had been fractured and these wells makeup 43 percent of oil and 67 percent of natural gas production in the U.S.

In the 1980s, environmental concerns emerged around ground water contamination caused by gas and fracturing chemicals making their way into deep aquifers. Recently two Stanford researchers, Dominic DiGuilio and Robert Jackson, discovered that fracking takes place dangerously close to aquifers thousands of miles below the surface. These aquifers have been categorized as safe for humans but what if they became contaminated with carcinogens and neurotoxic chemicals without us even knowing it?

Los Angeles Times reports:

DiGiulio and Jackson plotted the depths of fracked wells, as well as domestic drinking water wells in the Pavillion area. They found that companies used acid stimulation and hydraulic fracturing at depths of the deepest water wells near the Pavillion gas field, at 700 to 750 feet, far shallower than fracking was previously thought to occur in the area.

“It’s true that fracking often occurs miles below the surface,” said Jackson, professor of environment and energy at Stanford. “People don’t realize, though, that it’s sometimes happening less than a thousand feet underground in sources of drinking water.”

There’s also the concern that fracking chemicals injected into rocks will then mix with gas and once used may be released into the environment in the form of methane. Additionally, the heavy duty machinery used to fracture wells may cause destruction to eco-systems and landscapes. Like in Oklahoma, for example, where 2,500 earthquakes are being blamed on fracking and the destruction of rock formations.

What if these earthquakes happened in vulnerable places like the airport? Random, I know, but it could actually happen. Now Pittsburgh International Airport is diving into the fracking business. Consol Energy will set up right alongside the airport parking lot this month. The gas deposits are a mile directly below the airport. Is this the best place to be injecting and extracting volatile chemicals?

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There is an unspeakable tragedy going on in Japan right now. It will continue to unfold before our eyes in the days, weeks, months, years, and even decades ahead. It will reach the coast of America. This may sound alarmist, but it isn’t. As the New York Times reported this morning:

“The fast-moving developments at the Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) plant, 150 miles north of Tokyo, catapulted the 4-day-old nuclear crisis to an entirely new level, threatening to overshadow even the massive damage and loss of life spawned by a devastating earthquake and tsunami.”

Now nor ever is the right time for panic. The multiple stricken reactors might not melt down. But that doesn’t mean that they won’t continue to emit health-threatening levels of radiation. If the wind shifts, and that radiation heads inland, people will be migrating from their homes, villages, maybe even cities. To where?

What are we to do? What can we do?

First, of course, we have to do whatever we can to help Japan. It’s the third richest economy in the world, but every dollar, every package, every plane or ship that lands with relief supplies will be welcome, not just for the physical support, but for the moral support. If they want to send over exchange students, we should take them. If Japanese businesses need help, their competitors here in the United States should help. If you’re a person of faith, pray.

And here in America? The current nuclear disaster is in Japan, but we have our own problems. Would you light a lump of coal and put it on your kitchen table while your family was in the house? Why is there more air pollution in the Powder River Basin of Idaho than there is in Los Angeles? What are we going to do if hydraulic fracking many hundreds of feet underground releases gas and toxic chemicals that contaminate one of our rivers?

Coal and natural gas are no healthier than nuclear power. At the end of the day, across the planet and across what will be the couple centuries of world history of burning massive amounts of fossil fuels for power, fossil fuels will end up impacting far more people than nuclear power.

America needs to do what it has always, until recently, done best – lead. We need to get out of the dirty, dangerous, unhealthy fuels of the past and lead the way into a clean, healthy and prosperous new energy future. We need to support the people, the politicians, the companies and the organizations that are trying to get us there.

Image: Hogeasdf

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