Gas Drilling by Fracking may contaminate Groundwater

Petroleum and gas service companies injected tens of millions of gallons of diesel fuel into onshore wells in USA from 2005 to 2009, Congressional investigators have charged. Those injections appear to have violated the Safe Water Drinking Act, the investigators said in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Shale Gas Drilling Dangers

The major concern with shale gas drilling is the chemicals used in the process. Because the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempted hydraulic fracturing from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, shale gas drillers don’t have to disclose what chemicals they use. A study conducted by Theo Colburn, PhD, the director of the Endocrine Disruption Exchange in Paonia, Colorado, has so far identified 65 chemicals that are probable components of the fracking fluids used by shale gas drillers. These chemicals included benzene, glycol-ethers, toluene, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethanol, and nonylphenols. All of these chemicals have been linked to health disorders when human exposure is too high.

Concerns are growing that many of the chemicals used in shale gas drilling are seeping into groundwater. While some of the injection fluid used in the process comes back to the surface, 30 to 40 percent is never recovered, according to the industry’s own estimates. People living in the vicinity of shale gas drilling have reported foul smells in their tap water. In some instances gas well pipes have broken, resulting in leakage of contaminants into the surrounding ground.
Legal Help for Victims of Shale Gas Drilling Water Contamination
Water contamination from shale gas drilling could be threatening the health of thousands of people. Our firm is committed to making sure that shale gas drillers are held accountable for the damage caused by this process. We are aggressively investigating cases where shale gas drilling is the suspected cause of water contamination.