Hydraulic Fracturing is Not the Solution

What the frack? Photo by: Toban Black

The hydraulic fracturing process utilizes a chemical solution containing known carcinogens such as lead, radium, uranium, mercury and formaldehyde. These harmful waste products threaten public safety. The government must institute regulatory measures in order to prevent the dissemination of toxins into the public drinking water. Shale gas is natural gas produced from hydraulic fracturing. Due to lack of governmental regulation the chemicals employed in shale gas extraction currently leaves dangerous amounts of carcinogens and toxins in public drinking water. Current shale gas benefits are outweighed by their costs due to the world’s reliance on fossil fuels and developing cleaner alternative energies.

Hydraulic fracturing is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in to break shale rocks to emit and capture the natural gas inside. Each hydraulic fracturing consumes approximately 400,000 gallons of carcinogenic, or cancer-causing, chemicals. That is 400,000 gallons of chemicals that if ingested by the average human would cause health problems in the vein of cancer and respiratory issues.I am all for finding alternative forms of energy because at the rate we are going, there won’t be much environment to preserve, but this rapid degradation of our water supply just can’t be justified.

Take a look at this article by Penn Live. It refers to instances in Pennsylvania of water contamination via fracturing being outright denied by construction companies or explained away because “the problem was there before they began operations”. That child-like “it wasn’t me” response is just a blatant disregard for the safety of others born of apathy. Pennsylvania’s Act 13 calls for testing of water supplies within 2,500 feet prior to drilling. This practice may deter from the “it was like that when I got there” excuse but a stipulation included in Act 13 gives more cause for concern than may have been expected. When evidence of water contamination is indisputable victims are eligible for a settlement but are given a gag order as part of their “compensation”. This practice is concerning because it points to a much bigger problem in the shale gas industry.

It is clear that there is a need for extreme measures of caution when hydraulic fracturing, but instances of contamination are hushed by government that should be regulating the practice and energy companies that should be held to a high standard because of the potential health implications. These gag orders also serve to quiet potential activism in the wake of contamination. Victims of water contamination via fracturing need permittance to voice their concerns and stories involving fracking because the public is the society’s watchdog; they make sure the government takes care of its responsibilities and pressures private companies to provide the quality safety and service demanded by the people.

A fear of needles... Photo by: Campact

Even more concerning than the drinking water fracturing contaminates is the amount of water that is used to create fracturing fluid. Again, there are 400,000 gallons of chemicals poured into water to make fracturing fluid. That water mixed with fracturing chemicals must go through a likely expensive purification process for reuse at some point. The pollution of aquifers following hydraulic fracturing is worrisome on its own, but add to this the amount of water that is polluted simply to make the liquid, and that is cause enough to question whether the benefits are worth the contamination of one of Earth’s most valuable resource.

This is not to say that shale gas deserves complete abandonment. I think it can be of great value if the proper regulations are instituted. This informational site on the facts behind shale gas mentions that shale gas reserves in the United States “may be sustainable for decades”. That fact coupled with the need to move away from pollutant-generating fossil fuels places shale gas in a position to fill the vacuum left by wasteful resources. But it is important to remember that shale gas is only a temporary solution, akin to a temp in the office working until a suitable employee is found to do the job properly.

The notion that shale gas is “cleaner” than other gas produced from fossils comes from the erroneous assumption that producing less carbon indicates cleanliness. Shale gas emits methane gas when it is burned. Methane is a much more potent pollutant than carbon. Shale gas is consequently much more destructive in its production due to the water it contaminates through the hydraulic fracturing process and the methane it emits in its burning.

The flippant disregard of the above information in regards to the cleanliness of the public’s water supply is egregious. Hydraulic fracturing is a chemical process that involves forcibly injecting 400,000 gallons of toxic chemicals into geological structures that house the aquifers in which drinking water is derived from. If the government or energy companies that regulate and supply energy produced from hydraulic fracturing can’t be trusted to investigate the possibility that perhaps even a miniscule amount of of the 400,000 gallons of harmful chemicals that are used per fracturing, then maybe we should stop considering shale gas a viable form of alternative energy in advent of some sort of deus ex machina-esque “clean energy”.

However, shale gas can be of considerable benefit society. There just needs to be strict hydraulic fracturing regulations and accountability on the part of energy companies. After all, if the public drinking water becomes tainted, producing cleaner energy will be the least of the world’s concerns.

Works Cited

“Shale gas drilling: blameless bonanza or scorched-earth operation?” Patriot News Web. 09 January 2014
“Facts about Shale Gas” American Petroleum Institute Web. 18 February 2014