ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of Fracking

1455 Words6 Pages

Energy production is essential in the developed world and the energy production industry takes advantage of any means of production that is both cheap and abundant. One such energy market that has been gaining momentum in the United States over the past decade is high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF), colloquially known as “fracking.” This is the use of unconventional mining techniques, large volumes of water, and potentially hazardous chemicals, to force the extraction of natural gas from underground shale deposits. Fracking utilizes horizontal drilling that is otherwise not implemented at conventional natural gas sites. While industry boasts that this practice is safe, concerns have risen relating to potential hazards that can affect the surrounding environment. The negative impacts that each HVHF installment may have on surrounding water resources has become a critical concern. During any given …show more content…

This registry gives the general public access to a database containing many of the chemicals commonly employed in fracking practices. Fracfocus.org lists the chemicals by name and assigns to each its Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number, purpose, and function. For example, the chemical glutaraldehyde’s purpose is to eliminate “bacteria in the water that produces corrosive by-products” and is given the function “biocide”. FracFocus states that the “multiplicity of names can make a search for chemicals somewhat difficult and frustrating”, thus the CAS number identifies the specific chemical substance regardless of any other name it may be given. This makes identifying the chemicals used in fracking a less arduous task. With knowledge of the spectrum of chemicals is use, contamination of ground and surface waters can be more thoroughly examined and

Show More
Related
887 Words | 4 Pages

In studies done on the Marcellus Shale region of West Virginia and Pennsylvania, the largest natural gas field in the US, it was found that more than 90% of the fracking fluid injected into wells were never removed. A common fracking chemical, benzene, is a human carcinogen known to cause cancer. Another chemical, volatile organic compounds (VOC), easily diffuses into the air, harming workers at the site who breathe in the air. VOCs have also been seen in water sources in percentages that exceeded drinking water standards. Chemicals used in fracking cause a range of problems, from nosebleeds and abnormal skin growth to cancer and birth

Read More
446 Words | 2 Pages

There are up to 600 dangerous chemicals are used in the technology for the sake of fracking fluid, including the known carcinogens and toxins such as lead, uranium, mercury, ethylene glycol, radium, methanol, hycdrochloric acid, formal dehyde, and so on.. Some of the new technologies are made when they mix a new form of chemical into the water just to make the oil fracking happen. The dangerous chemicals are mixed with the water before injecting it for the oil fracking purposes. Because of the water being mixed with the chemicals, the water became contiminated and there are some effects are made while flowing the water towards into the earth.

Read More
491 Words | 2 Pages

"Hydraulic fracturing, the process of extracting oil or gas by forcing fluids into the ground to fracture shale rocks, at the Eagle Ford Shale Play has produced more oil and natural gas but at the cost of environmental hazards and affect human health. The part of the process that creates the environmental hazards is the fracking fluids that are forced into the ground. For each fracking job, these fluids are comprised of 1 to 8 million gallons of water and 40,000 gallons of chemicals. Some of the 600 chemical carcinogens and toxins in the fracking fluids are lead, radium, uranium, mercury, methanol, hydrochloric acid, ethylene glycol, and formaldehyde. Once the fracking job is done, about 50 to 70 percent of fracking liquids are left in open

Read More
612 Words | 3 Pages

Fracking is worse for the environment than conventional oil drilling because conventional drilling does not present as many environmental threats as fracking does. It is estimated that energy companies consumed nearly 250 billion gallons of water between 2005 and 2014 for hydraulic fracturing. This is more water per unit of energy produced than conventional oil and gas exploration requires for drilling and cementing wells (How Much Water Do U.S. Fracking Operations Really Use?). Also, fracking companies are not required to disclose the chemicals used in fracking fluids, also known as slickwater. Since the fracking process is so complicated, any mistake could trigger mass contamination of these chemicals into surrounding environments such as

Read More
1275 Words | 6 Pages

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, is a very controversial method of capturing oil and natural gas. It involves shooting a solution of water, sand, and almost 600 chemicals at extreme pressure into underground wells, causing the rock formations to crack. This allows the oil and natural gas to flow more freely, allowing previously trapped resources to be harvested. Fracking is so controversial because the potential monetary gains are enormous, yet the environmental impacts are devastating. The documentary “Gasland”, directed and narrated by Josh Fox, provided first hand insight into the fracking industry.

Read More
1147 Words | 5 Pages

The Fracking Dilemma Hydraulic fracturing, like any form of disruptive innovation, has been divisive. It is viewed as both a potential source of energy independence for the US and a geological threat. Cost-benefit analysis must be conducted on breakthroughs like fracking. The argument that natural gas captured by fracking outweighs the risks required to obtain the natural gas is made by the energy and transportation industries. These industries willfully ignore or downplay the instability it causes to the geological system and immense resources used.

Read More
632 Words | 3 Pages

According to water pollution surveys throughout the communities where hydraulic fracturing drilling takes place, the main concerns are developing serious health problems such as cancer, respiratory disease, reproduction problems, and skin problems just to name a few (Earthworks). Throughout my research, I have yet to come across any materials that support such claims but that is not to say that none exist, these chemicals are very dangerous and should be given respect when handling them. Needless to say, since hydraulic fracturing was first used to recover natural gas and oil in 1947, the industrial industry has taken the necessary steps to ensure and maintain safety first and to ensure the safety of communities and the protection of the

Read More
1027 Words | 5 Pages

Imagine, you turn on your faucet, you hold a match perpendicular to the water, and watch as in a horrifying burst of light and heat, fire engulfs your sink. This may be caused by hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. Fracking is a natural gas drilling process some consider “safe”, that drills into deposits previously unreachable. This involves “smashing rocks with water and chemicals, to bring gas to the surface”. In the Bush Administration’s Energy Policy Act, Fracking was excluded from the list of energy sources that the EPA is capable of regulating.

Read More
807 Words | 4 Pages

The amendments to SWDA that excluded injection wells were “(i) the underground injection of natural gas for purposes of storage; and (ii) the underground injection of fluids or propping agents (other than diesel fuels) pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities. (Brady, 2012, pg. 45)”. RCRA gives the EPA all authority to regulate the cradle-to-grave process of hazardous waste (Brady, 2012, pg. 46). In 1982, waste from oil fields was exempted from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (California Fracking, n.d.).”. This happened before the EPA could complete testing on wastes produced by fracking (oil-field wastes) when Congress enacted the Solid Waste Disposal Act which exempts oil-field wastes from being defined under hazardous waste because the waste caused by fracking is liquid and not solid (Brady, 2012, pg. 46-47).

Read More
1763 Words | 8 Pages

Fracking is a useful way to provide energy, however it affects the environment in many ways. Hydraulic Fracturing is a procedure used to extract oil and natural gas by inserting water, sand, and liquids such as chemicals in the subsurface, which indicates that this process can lead to dangerous risks (Weible 232). That method involves drilling feet underground through layers of stones, which indicates that the drilling fractures the rocks (Newton 23). Furthermore, fracking has some benefits that last a brief period, but it is not worth the risk. In fact, fracking is a political and environmental issue that has impacted the world and people’s lives.

Read More
1699 Words | 7 Pages

Fracking has actually been taking place since the 1940’s, but not until it was combined with horizontal drilling was it extremely useful (“Hydraulics” 71-75). In the past fifteen years the fracking business has skyrocketed. By 2015 thirty-five thousand wells are using fracking methods in order to extract the natural gases each year. Ninety percent of all gas production in the United States would be impossible without fracking (“Hydraulics” 71-75). More than ninety percent of natural gas wells in the U.S. rely on fracking (Howarth, Ingraffea, and Engelder).

Read More
578 Words | 3 Pages

Some people believe that the environment isn 't being harmed by everyday production, but one can argue that as people move closer to fracking industries, people become exposed to harmful gases and chemicals. Fracking a destructive force, is it safe, is it reasonable, is it right? As Chris Hedges explains in his article “Death By Fracking”, he says, “There are more than 15 million Americans, many of them children, who live within a mile of a fracking site. Most are being exposed daily to a deadly brew of toxins. Because the oil and gas industry is not required under law to disclose the chemicals used in

Read More
1568 Words | 7 Pages

The search for new, clean energy has been going on for a number of years with a plethora of ideas and innovations as evidence. One of the biggest and most talked about alternative energy sources is natural gas. Found in shale beds underground, natural gas is obtained by a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking as it’s more commonly known, that breaks apart the rock by using high pressurized chemicals. Though it has been a known process for some time, the argument of whether fracking is worthwhile is still going strong. Some believe the risk it brings to the environment is too high, while others think the positives outrank the negatives.

Read More
1192 Words | 5 Pages

In today’s world, sources of energy are becoming increasingly more scarce, which raises awareness. Obtaining enough energy to sustain future generations is a question that needs to be asked to today’s generation. Many experts believe that hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is one alternative that will create a clean source of energy to fuel the future. However, with other alternatives laying around, research needs to be done in the field to fully identify both the pros and cons of fracking. Many people do not know what hydraulic fracturing is or how it is done.

Read More
943 Words | 4 Pages

Researchers have “requested data from Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Texas, all states heavily involved in the recent surge of oil and gas drilling, about complaints related to hydraulic fracking for oil and gas” for their research on fracking (Dechert).   The research collected was shocking, over 2,000 complaints in Texas alone and several cases on well water contamination within the states mentioned in Decherd’s article. People need to be alerted about how real fracking is and the damages it is doing. These complaints and cases should be a wakeup call to the world and say that we should put it to a

Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Fracking

Related Topics

Open Document