Dangers of Hydraulic Fracking and Fracturing to the Environment

Modern day fracking was started during the 1990’s, now we are looking to be more invested in this process because it gives us access to fuel using our own supplies. Hydraulic fracturing is a process of drilling into the ground with a horizontal drill into shale formations. After the drilling is done the shales are pumped with high pressure water and chemicals to break up the rocks, releasing trapped natural gas. With the ability to frack in the US, there is an increase in production of more natural gas and oils. It also lessens the US dependency on foreign fuel sources. Those are some benefits of fracking, yet fracking has some cons to it. Fracking is an effective technique to produce abundant amount of oil but these techniques have unregulated toxic chemicals, extreme air pollution, and contamination of groundwater. America has plenty of things that are regulated, such as foods, medicine, and miscellaneous things such as shampoo. Yet toxic chemicals being used to drill into our soil that causes fumes are not being regulated.

Toxic chemicals should be regulated, to keep track of how much is being used and being released into the environment. The issue with regulating is that regulators do not require fracking companies to list their chemicals because in the business world that is “considered a trade secret” (Lisa, Song, Greenhaven Press, 2013). Due to those trade secrets chemicals cannot be properly regulated. In an article about fracking, called The Chemicals Used for Fracking Should Be Fully Disclosed, Lisa Song wrote, “The BLM would allow companies to exempt certain chemicals or mixtures of compounds that are considered trade secrets”.

The BLM is known as The Bureau of Land Management allows companies to be exempted. These exemptions are harmful because even though these chemicals are bound to one company there should be a system, so the chemicals could be monitored. Many chemicals and chemical mixtures are unknown; therefore, cannot be regulate, “If you know what's being injected, you'd know what to monitor and track” (Lisa Song, Greenhaven Press, 2013). That is made clear that most of these companies do not know what they are throwing together to inject into the shales. If these companies did know, there would be no reason why they could not keep track of the chemicals being used.

Not only does monitoring help with regulation, it could help these companies keep inventory. The most important thing about regulating these chemicals are because it impacts the community these companies are fracking in, “Chemicals released into the air when natural gas is produced by hydraulic fracturing may pose a health risk to those living nearby, the Colorado School of Public Health said” (Jim Polson and Jim Efstathiou Jr, Greenhaven Press, 2013). When these chemicals are being breathed, inhaled, and/or being ingested, they will cause health issues. These chemicals are “potentially toxic chemicals—including cancer-causing benzene—in the air near fracking sites, and they estimate a higher risk of health problems for individuals who live near those wells” (Jim Polson and Jim Efstathiou Jr, Greenhaven Press, 2013).

Fracking sites near cities is dangerous to those who live by it, since fracking releases so many chemicals into the environment it also causes major air pollution. Air pollution is concerning because it’s the air people breathe in every day, it’s not only bad for the people, but animals as well. When the fumes are released into the air and society has no choice but to inhale it. Humans are not advanced enough to create an air purifier for the world. When these chemicals are being breathed it can causes dizziness. In the article, The Serious Risks of Fracking Outweigh Its Benefits, Tamara Thompson writes, “Benzene, a carcinogen, and chemicals that can irritate eyes and cause headaches, sore throats or difficulty breathing”. Inhaling these chemicals are passed through human lungs for the bodies to filter through, that can lead up to cancer. Other chemicals found in fracking is “Hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs and can affect the brain and upper-respiratory system” (Hydraulic Fracturing Should Be Banned, Greenhaven Press, 2012).

Environmentally, fracking causes a lot of smog, these areas are “peppered with drilling rigs have high levels of smog as well as other airborne pollutants” (Michael Moore, The Charleston Gazette, 2014). Smog and gases trapped in the ozone layer causes the earth to be hotter. Since the created gases are unable to be released and recycled, it is causing damage to the atmosphere. Jim Polson and Jim Efstathiou, the authors of Fracking Pollutes the Air with Hazardous wrote, “The increased concentration is intensifying the greenhouse effect by making layers of greenhouse gases thicker, trapping more heat, and releasing less energy back to the atmosphere. As a result, the climate is getting hotter”. As society notices how the climate has been irregular for the past years, it cannot be certain that its fracking alone causes global warming, but it sure does play a part in it.

These chemicals are not only being released into our air, it is also being dumped into the ground as waste. This impacts the rain cycle because when these chemicals are running off, they could contaminate our clean drinking groundwater. Our groundwater is extremely important to all living things on earth. Runoff water can end up in rivers, oceans, or soil; potentially killing plants and wildlife. Tamara Thompson explains, “this potentially contaminated wastewater can then be discharged into local rivers”, if contaminated water is being runoff into our rivers it could kill the aquatic lifeform or it could impact humanity from eating contaminated fish. Contaminated water is so important because it could kill too much of the wildlife of plants and animals. Humanity could potentially be put at risk by destroying the food chain. Aside from potentially destroying wildlife, drinking water could be made undrinkable. Drinking contaminated water could cause horrendous health problems. Some drinking water sources have been “contaminated with explosive methane, as well as other dangerous substances, such as benzene and arsenic, that can cause cancer and other serious illnesses” (The Serious Risk of Fracking, Greenhaven, 2013). Death is not reversible, it would be unfortunate if a majority of society died from arsenic poisoning. In Serious Risks of Fracking Outweighs Its Benefits, Thompson wrote, “The fracking process requires considerable amounts of water, involves the use of toxic chemicals, necessitates huge amounts of truck traffic, and produces large quantities of highly polluted wastewater”. Fracking mixes large amounts of waters and chemicals together to pump it into the ground, that’s about “5.1 million gallons” of water being used per fracking well. The usage of safe drinking water is being wasted, it would be nice to produce all this natural gas, but what good would it be if humanity died off before it could be used? The massive amounts of water being used could cause a drought in towns near by fracking wells.

The idea of fracking is ideal and efficient, during a short-term point of view it is extremely beneficial. It could give the US own energy source, produce more jobs, and extremely low gas prices. Even though all those benefits sound good, society needs to understand that it impacts the environment and public health. The unconventional gas industry is being exempted from many of the needed regulations, monitoring, and safety enforcements. Is the mass production of oil worth inhaling chemicals, living in smog, and drinking arsenic for the rest of eternity? Fracking can make the US an independent energy source but due to the risk of air pollution, water contamination, and lack of monitoring for toxic chemicals. It would be better for the US to find another energy source or make fracking safer.