The issues that fracking causes for human beings and the planet are very revealing when looking at the water and air quality around the places they drill, it is significantly worse than the places that do not have active drilling. Drilling for oil is dangerous for the environment as it lowers the water quality and makes the water contaminated. There are many places in America that have been contaminated such as Flint Hill. Although not from the same source the same things can happen, and the water can be contaminated even more. 40% increased chance of having a premature baby and a 30% risk of having the pregnancy be classified as “high-risk,”. Fracking is slowly killing Americas water supply and causing air pollution. It shows that it also disturbs the residents in their daily lives, harming things like their sleep schedule, water supply and giving the residents respiratory problems
When drilling for oil we waste a lot of water and materials, the water used in the fracking usually does not get cleaned correctly. This water contains contaminants and gets evaporated into the air it then rains into the lakes and the sources of freshwater. When a blowout happens, the water is spilt everywhere and can spill back into the well which in turn contaminates the water. ‘Penning points out that chemicals in fracking fluids—although they make up only a small percentage (0.5–2.0%) of the total aqueous volume—are present in large amounts given how much water goes into a single well. “This is a complex mixtures problem,” he says. “And a major concern is that wastewater will leak from holding ponds into groundwater and surface water supplies, where human exposures are possible.”” (Horton 1). Fracking not only hurts the water quality but drops the air quality around the site.
The sites release methane, methane is detrimental to the air quality surrounding fracking sites. The toxic chemicals used in fracking are released into the atmosphere and start to attack our ozone layer. “Conventional oil and gas production has been known for some time to create harmful air emissions.5 With the increase in fracking activity, more and more studies now document emissions of airborne pollutants at and near fracking sites that are known to cause cancer and harm the nervous, respiratory, and immune systems” (Horton 1). Fracking is not just a bad thing though it creates more than 1 million jobs. It is one of the backbones of our country, but the environment should come first for our future generations.
Works Cited
- Nunez, Christina. “How Has Fracking Changed Our Future?” National Geographic, 2 Sept. 2015, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/energy/great-energy-challenge/big-energy-question/how-has-fracking-changed-our-future/#close.
- Stone, Judy. “Fracking Is Dangerous to Your Health — Here’s Why.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 23 Feb. 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2017/02/23/fracking-is-dangerous-to-your-health-heres-why/#5e80d3345945.
- Horton, Melissa. “What Are the Effects of Fracking on the Environment?” Investopedia, Investopedia, 8 May 2019, www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/011915/what-are-effects-fracking-environment.asp
- Schmidt, Charles W. “Estimating Wastewater Impacts from Fracking.” National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1 Apr. 2013, ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/ehp.121-a117
- Potential Health and Environmental Effects of Hydrofracking in the Williston Basin, Montana.” Case Studies, 15 Feb. 2019, serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/health/case_studies/hydrofracking_w.html.
