The Cons of Fracking
There is a new environmental concern on the horizon and it is something we need to pay attention to. Namely, hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking. Energy companies use hydrofracking to extract natural gas from the ground. For those that are not familiar with hydrofracking, a brief explanation is necessary. Hydraulic fracturing is a feat of engineering that allows us to extract natural gas from the deep layer of rock it is trapped in (Mooney, C. 2011). So is hydrofracking safe? I don’t think so. Let’s review some of the issues hydrofracking or shall I say Fracking may cause. I will be debating against the PRO’s of Fracking.
One of the points that the PRO group made was that it created more jobs in different areas. Yes that is true, Fracking does create a lot of jobs, but for whom? Most of the jobs it create you have to be citified professional to do just that. Not to mention trained in hazardous chemicals. My point is that some Fracking companies by pass the professional part. Some companies try to curve their budget by not hiring certified professionals. I think that is a very dangerous job to just hire someone that hasn’t been trained. Then once something dangerous and unsafe happens, it’s usually involving the person who hasn’t been trained properly.
Another point that the PRO group brought up was that Fracking is more environmentally safe than coal mining. That is also true, but what is the cost of comparing it to something that only causes minor problems than something that can create a possible epidemic. Yes I said it, an EPIDEMIC!! Fracking can cause a major contamination of drinking water. There are many different types of dangerous chemicals that are involved in Fracking and drilling that close to our natural drinking water can contaminate it. We do have very good filtration systems in place to filter out harmful chemicals, but what if that’s not good enough? Now communities in the area can get sick and who know if it can be viral and spread. Fracking can be good and bad, but I’m glad you don’t hear too much bad about it because it does help heat and power our homes.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has required Fracking companies to take the necessary steps to prevent contamination of our natural drinking water. Some of those precautions are to provide storage tanks on site for the hazardous chemicals used, line their pipes with synthetic material to prevent leakage, and drill storage tanks in the ground deep enough to capture chemicals that don’t make it back to the surface. The problem is that even when proper precautions are taken, pit linings can tear, and in heavy rains the pits can overflow. Under the proposed New York rules, only watertight tanks will be allowed to store flow back water, and runoff precautions must be made (Mooney, C. 2011).
Despite a company’s efforts to prevent contamination of water supply, it happens anyway. Not to mention any accidents that could happen. One person in the state of New York was preparing a pot of water, when place on the stove the water became flammable because of the chemicals mixed in the water (Mooney, C. 2011). Imagine this happening in every household. The population in the area is not safe. The company that is at fault will pay a very large fine according to the EPA.
Fracking can also cause global warming. A lot of people in this world never think about global warming and the effects it has on the world. During the flow back stage of Fracking, chemically induced clouds of smoke are emitted into the air. Some of these toxic air pollutants such as carcinogenic benzene, ground-level ozone, and methane cause global warming at a rate of 72 times higher than that of carbon dioxide. Now since there are very large volumes of toxic gasses emitted into the Earth’s atmosphere, the EPA has placed regulation on the amount that can be released in any area.
If Fracking is defined as a single fracture of deep shale, that action might be benign. When multiple “fracks” are done in multiple, adjacent wells, however, the risk for contaminating drinking water may rise. If Fracking is defined as the entire industrial operation, including drilling and the storage of wastewater, contamination has already been found. The demand for more natural gas in our world does create more jobs, but each individual should be properly trained and well qualified. Global warming is happening everywhere. Fracking in different areas increases the cause of global warming and the emitting of toxic chemicals in the air. Natural gas in our world is at a high demand but Fracking will always have a down fall to its effects.
References
Mooney, C. (2011). THE TRUTH ABOUT FRACKING. Scientific American, 305(5), 80-85. Examining the truth about how Fracking works and its causes and effects. Senate committee examines EPA rule on air pollution from fracking. (2012). Issues in Science & Technology, 29(1), 20.
