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=Drilling for Natural Gas: Health Concerns and Environmental Burdens=



The Argument
America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) boasts that natural gas is clean, abundant, domestic, and will create jobs. Even though natural gas may burn slightly cleaner than other fuels when used to create electricity or when used to power cars, the detrimental effects of extracting natural gas far outweigh the benefits. The Marcellus Shale formation is abundant, with geologists estimating it contains up to 489 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, but do we really want to try to deplete such a resource? In the state of the economy it is advantageous to create jobs and reduce reliance on international oil, but natural gas drilling is not the best way to do so.

Not worried about natural gas drilling? You should be.
EPA estimates that approximately 35,000 wells are fractured each year across the United States. Since horizontal drilling is the technique used most often for these wells, the EPA estimates the amount of water used annually to drill for natural gas may range from 70 to 140 billion gallons. All of this water is mixed with a proppant such as sand, along with a long list of chemicals specific to each company, to create hydraulic fracturing fluid ('fracking' fluid). Only 10 to 40 percent of the water can be recovered from the ground after drilling, with the remaining water seeping through the ground polluting local water supplies.

The EPA compiled a list of publicly know chemicals used in fracking fluid, but industry considers information about the chemicals and concentrations used in their hydraulic fracturing fluid to be proprietary and confidential, so not all chemicals in the fluid have been identified. The fluid contains some benign substances like sand and guar gum, but the EPA recognizes that “chronic toxicity” is associated with chemicals such as ethylene glycol and dimethyl formamide found in fracking fluid.

Not only does the fracking fluid infiltrate the underground water supplies during drilling, but the percent that is removed from the ground is stored in man-made 'ponds' with a plastic liner. The polluted water stored in the pond is classified as produced water and is sprayed into the air in sunlight to encourage evaporation. Natural gas itself leaks up through the ground when fracturing takes place and makes water supplies toxic. Many residents living near natural gas drilling experience contamination of their water supply. Reports include water that hisses and bubbles as well as some instances where there is enough gas in the water to light it on fire out of the tap!

The extent of water contamination in drinking resources is serious. Health problems are arising from people drinking their tap water polluted by natural gas and fracking chemicals as well as from breathing pollutants in the air surrounding their homes. Streams and rivers near drilling sites are also being affected. Chemicals and natural gas leaking into these bodies of water can kill off many or all species.

Stakeholders
There are many stakeholders in the natural gas industry. The gas companies themselves have investment in the continuation and success of natural gas as major fuel source for this country. The energy industry is a large money maker in our economy and has a lot of decision making power. Each of us are stakeholders because we need energy to fuel our way of life, but it is also our responsibility and should be a priority to preserve the environment and human health.

Addressing the Problem
If we do not address the issues that natural gas drilling is creating now, we will have unlimited amounts of drilling resulting in prolonged deterioration of the environment and unknown health problems in the future. A NY Times article from March 3, 2011 reports, "The natural gas industry has exemptions or exclusions from key parts of at least 7 of the 15 major federal environmental laws designed to protect air and water from radioactive and hazardous chemicals." These include policies like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act.

The extent of drilling and reliance on natural gas may prevent elimination of natural gas drilling, at least in the near future. However, action needs to be taken to push for stricter regulations for natural gas drilling before too much damage is done. New technology may also enable drilling via a safer process without use of so many chemicals or contamination of water supplies. Other possible solutions are turning to renewable energy sources like wind power and solar power.

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