Fracking Advantages And Disadvantages

Fracking is the process of drilling deep into the earth’s crust and injecting water, sand and chemicals under immense pressure in order to obtain natural gas. With this process there are benefits and also disadvantages. There are many risks to groundwater from surface spills that are associated with shale energy development, they can be managed or mitigated by following certain precautions and steps. Groundwater is present throughout the atmosphere. There is surface water, atmospheric water and groundwater. It is something both humans and animals rely on to survive. With all of the water on the planet we are only able to drink 0.5% that is fresh water. The other 99.5% is all salt water. (“PA DCNR - Geology - Groundwater,” n.d.) Concerns about …show more content…
Generally, human activities cause pollution. With the economic benefits fracking has to offer to the world it does disturb the environment. A contemporary example of this is seen in North Dakota. The new technology of fracking immerged and roughly 10,000 wells have been drilled for unconventional oil and gas production. With the rapid “boom” of drilling locations led to some issues. About 4,000 of the wells reported wastewater spills from fracking. With a scientific study it stated that the “surface waters in the area carrying radium, selenium, thallium, lead and other toxic chemicals that can persist for years at unsafe levels.” The scientists sampled water from the locations of the contaminated water and concluded that there were high concentrations of salts, trace metals and other toxic chemicals in the spills. Furthermore, ammonium and selenium concentrations were above recommended levels for aquatic life. (“Toxic chemicals from fracking wastewater spills can persist for years | Chemical & Engineering News,” n.d.) This is a serious issue to the local animals and the people in the area of the fracking location. Being exposed to these toxic chemicals can cause serious long term health effects. The wastewater from fracking is called produced water which includes naturally occurring toxic or radioactive element found deep in the earth’s crust. Radium and selenium are some examples of what the long list of elements that are …show more content…
It consists of lead, arsenic, barium, chromium, magnesium, strontium, and uranium. (Duggan-Haas & Ross, 2014 pg. 74) Depending on your expose to the heavy metals they can have different health effects on you. Lead exposure can cause nervous system and brain damage. With the heavy metals many chemicals are used. Many companies don’t want to release the what chemicals they use, want to keep it confidential. This has caused concern with regulators, emergency responders, health care providers, and residents who are inquisitive about fracking. (Duggan-Haas & Ross, 2014 pg. 71) I would not feel comfortable living near a well where 180+ chemicals I have trouble producing, are inserted into the ground where I get my drinking water. In addition, I would not support the constant trucking of chemicals and water. It creates noise and pollution which I find very irritating. Also, volatile organic compounds and total dissolved solids are present in wastewater. volatile organic compounds are toxic to humans; they can co-occur with methane located in the Marcellus shale that creates gas. Lastly, total dissolved solids dissolve in water and a normal filter cannot remove them. They are disruptive to aquatic animals. (Duggan-Haas & Ross, 2014 pg. 75) The risks of fracking continue, is it really worth it for the economic benefits in the long