Hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas has contaminated some drinking wells but the impact is not widespread, according to three-year landmark U.S. study of water pollution risks released today.
The draft analysis looked at possible ways fracking, the drilling practice behind the U.S. energy boom, could contaminate water sources.
These include spills of the fracking fluid shot underground and the migration of chemicals used in the practice to break apart shale rock to let the oil or gas flow.
“We did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States,” the EPA said in the report. Some of the “mechanisms” associated with the drilling practice, however, have led to “impacts on drinking water resources,” the report concludes.
The research by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, started in 2011, studied well failures, leaks or other drilling flaws that could cause contamination of drinking water supplies. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, said the study was a validation of the safety of fracking under existing regulations.
“Hydraulic fracturing is being done safely under the strong environmental stewardship of state regulators and industry best practices,” Erik Milito, API’s upstream group director, said in an e-mail. An environmental group, Earthworks, pointed to sections of the study that confirmed some water pollution linked to fracking.
“Now the Obama administration, Congress, and state governments must act on that information to protect our drinking water, and stop perpetuating the oil and gas industry’s myth that fracking is safe,” said Lauren Pagel, Earthwork’s policy director.
Fracking, in which water, sand and chemicals are shot into underground shale formations to free trapped natural gas or oil, has boomed in the past five years and led to record domestic production of both hydrocarbons.
bloomberg.com
The draft analysis looked at possible ways fracking, the drilling practice behind the U.S. energy boom, could contaminate water sources.
These include spills of the fracking fluid shot underground and the migration of chemicals used in the practice to break apart shale rock to let the oil or gas flow.
“We did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States,” the EPA said in the report. Some of the “mechanisms” associated with the drilling practice, however, have led to “impacts on drinking water resources,” the report concludes.
The research by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, started in 2011, studied well failures, leaks or other drilling flaws that could cause contamination of drinking water supplies. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, said the study was a validation of the safety of fracking under existing regulations.
“Hydraulic fracturing is being done safely under the strong environmental stewardship of state regulators and industry best practices,” Erik Milito, API’s upstream group director, said in an e-mail. An environmental group, Earthworks, pointed to sections of the study that confirmed some water pollution linked to fracking.
“Now the Obama administration, Congress, and state governments must act on that information to protect our drinking water, and stop perpetuating the oil and gas industry’s myth that fracking is safe,” said Lauren Pagel, Earthwork’s policy director.
Fracking, in which water, sand and chemicals are shot into underground shale formations to free trapped natural gas or oil, has boomed in the past five years and led to record domestic production of both hydrocarbons.
bloomberg.com
No comments:
Post a Comment