Fracking, also formally known as Hydraulic fracturing is the method of drilling and injecting liquid into the ground at a high pressure with the intention to fracture rocks to release the natural gas inside. All gas wells entail approximately 400 tanker trucks to transport water and additional supplies to and from the fracturing site. In order to finish a fracturing job it needs 1-8 million gallons of water. The water that is collected and used is mixed with sand and chemicals to produce fracking fluid that is needed for the operation. Roughly 40,000 gallons of chemicals are used per fracturing.
FRACKING FLUID
Fracking fluid is made up of 600 chemicals including URANIUM, MERCURY, ETHYLENE GLYCOL, RADIUM METHANOL, HYDROCHLORIC ACID, and FORMALDEHYDE
SHALE FRACTURING
The fracking fluid spreads to the end of the well where the high pressure causes the close shale rock to crack, creating fissures where natural gas flows into the well. During this process, methane gas and toxic chemicals seep out from the system and pollutes the water nearby that’s under the ground. Did you know that Methane mixes are 17 times higher in drinking-water wells near fracturing sites than in normal wells? A shocking fact tells the world that close proximity cities and towns make use of polluted well water. There have been over 1,000 recorded cases of polluted water near regions of gas drilling as well as cases of sensory, respiratory, and neurological damage due to consumed contaminated water.
Merely 30-50% of the fluid used for fracturing is recovered; the rest of the fractured water is left in the ground and is not biodegradable. This is extremely harmful for both natural environments and people. The waste fluid is left in open air pits to evaporate, releasing harmful volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere, creating contaminated air, acid rain, and ground level ozone.
