Has fracking caused water pollution?
Has fracking caused water pollution?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued new findings proving fracking can lead to water contamination that, in some cases, rendered private drinking water wells totally unusable.
How much water pollution Does fracking cause?
Fracking wells nationwide produced an estimated 280 billion gallons of wastewater in 2012. This toxic wastewater often contains cancer- causing and even radioactive materials, and has contaminated drinking water sources from Pennsylvania to New Mexico.
Is fracking water toxic?
However, the practice may come with a significant public health consequences, warn critics of fracking, noting that the process has the potential to contaminate drinking water supplies with toxic chemicals.
How does fracking pollute the groundwater?
There are many pathways to pollution from fracking. After the well is fracked and starts producing oil and gas, much of the fracking fluid remains underground where it could potentially contaminate groundwater if fractures connect to aquifer systems.
What are two water related environmental problems with fracking?
Two points were earned for identifying groundwater contamination and “contamination of lakes and streams” as two problems associated with fracking.
How damaging is fracking?
Fracking sites release a toxic stew of air pollution that includes chemicals that can cause severe headaches, asthma symptoms, childhood leukemia, cardiac problems, and birth defects. In addition, many of the 1,000-plus chemicals used in fracking are harmful to human health—some are known to cause cancer.
How much water is wasted in fracking?
The average fracking job uses roughly 4 million gallons of water per well – or about as much water as New York City uses every six minutes and about 1.3 percent of the water used by the country’s car washes every day.
How often does fracking contaminate water?
The report found that there is “no evidence of widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water” as a result of the fracking process. Another study corroborated the EPA’s findings.