Hydraulic fracturing for natural gas is contaminating drinking water, according to a report released by the National Academy of Sciences on Monday.
Hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking") involves pumping large volumes of water and chemicals under pressure into underground shale formations to fracture the rock and release natural gas.
The process has revitalized the domestic natural gas industry in the U.S., but it is highly controversial due to the environmental damage, which is just beginning to come to light.
Duke University scientists collected 68 drinking water samples from sites in Pennsylvania and New York, which showed potentially harmful levels of methane in drinking water near fracking sites.
"In aquifers overlying the Marcellus and Utica shale formations of northeastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York, we document systematic evidence for methane contamination of drinking water associated with shale gas extraction," the report states.
Methane levels were, on average, 17-times higher in shallow wells from active drilling areas than in wells from nonactive areas, the report said.
Maryland to Sue over Water Contamination
The State of Maryland said last week it intends to sue a drilling company that spilled hydraulic fracturing fluids into a freshwater tributary that feeds into the Chesapeake Bay.
Chesapeak Energy operates the Bradfor County, Pennsylvania well which blew on Aprill 19, releasing fracking fluids into the Towanda Creek, which runs into the Susquehanna River and then into Chesapeak Bay.
A spokeswoman for Maryland attorney general Douglas Gansler said it was unclear how much fluid actually leaked into the creek and exactly what is in the hydraulic fracturing fluid. Gansler himself said it could have been "thousands of gallons."
"Companies cannot expose citizens to dangerous chemicals that pose serious health risks to the environment and public health," Gansler said. "We are using all resources available to hold Chesapeake Energy accountable for its actions."
DOE Forms Fracking Safety Panel
As a result of the Pennsylvania spill and others, the US Department of Energy announced the creation of a panel that will recommend immediate steps for improving the safety of the hydraulic fracturing process.
The panel, includes John Deutch, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Daniel Yergin, the chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates.
The panel will make recommendations within six months, DOE said.
However, it’s likely that the panel’s recommendations will be limited to the drilling practices which can lead to spills, not the chemicals used.
The EPA is currently conducting a comprehensive study of the fracking practice and has collected a list of chemicals used by major drillers in the US. These chemicals, in addition to the natural methane released from rock formations, constitute the threat to subterranean water supplies.
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