Extracting natural gas from the ground is not something new and has been done for hundreds of years. A relative new way to extract it has been controversial since its introduction in the late 1990’s. This method is called hydraulic fracturing, or better known as fracking. This form of drilling technique has made it possible to retrieve natural gas and oil reserves that had before been considered difficult to retrieve. This development has led the energy industry in the United States to raise dramatically its estimates of the nation’s natural gas and oil reserves and has caused fracking drills to pop up all across the nation. But fracking has also brought with it criticism due to concerns over groundwater contamination, air pollution, and other …show more content…
Methane is a main component of natural gas and is 25 times more potent in trapping heating the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. A recent study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) monitoring gas wells in Weld County, Colorado, estimated that 4 percent of the methane produced by the wells is escaping into the atmosphere. NOAA scientists found the Weld County gas wells to be equal to the carbon emissions of 1-3 million cars (Gray). The Associated press also recently reported that Wyoming’s air quality near rural drilling sites is worse than Los Angeles’ (Pherson). A number of other air contaminants are released through the several procedures, including construction and operation of the well site, transport of the materials and equipment, and disposal of the waste. Some of the pollutants released by drilling include: benzene, toluene, xylene and ethyl benzene (BTEX), particulate matter and dust, ground level ozone, or smog, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and metals contained in diesel fuel combustion (Glauser). The exposure of these pollutants to humans is known to cause short-term illness, cancer, organ damage, nervous system disorders and birth defects or even death. Hazardous chemicals are added to the fracking fluid and each well produces millions of gallons of that toxic fluid from the fracking process. Fissures or cracks created by the fracking process can also create underground pathways for gases, chemicals and radioactive materials. The Environmental Protection Agency and United States Geological Survey have recently confirmed what residents of the city of Pavillion, Wyoming, where fracking is being done, have been claiming; this being that hydrofracking had contaminated their groundwater (USGS)(Jackson). The chemicals contaminating groundwater pose a huge health risk not just for the