What are the effects of radiation and toxicity of hydraulic fracturing on the environment?
Can you start a fire with the water from your kitchen sink? People living near gas wells sure can. Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” involves the injection of more than a million gallons of water, sand, and chemicals at a high pressure down and across into horizontally drilled wells as far as 10,000 feet below the surface in order to break apart the rock and release natural gas, known as, Shale gas. (ProPublica) However, the high pressure creates fissures and cracks in the rock surrounding the injection point and the gas and oil seep into people’s (and animals’) water supplies.
Alyssa Figueroa is an associate editor at AlterNet and Salon, which is an award-winning news magazine and online community that creates original journalism and amplifies the best of hundreds of other independent media sources. AlterNet’s aim is to inspire action and advocacy on the environment, human rights and civil liberties, social justice, media, health care issues, and more. In an article, Figueroa explained some depressing factors of fracking.
"The university researchers set out to uncover how fracking in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region is affecting dairy farming, the state’s top agricultural sector. The researchers examined dairy cow numbers, milk production and fracking activity among various counties in Pennsylvania between 2007 and 2010. They found that counties with 150 or more Marcellus Shale wells saw a 19 percent decrease in dairy cows, while counties with no wells saw only a 1.2 percent decrease. In a similar fashion, milk production in these counties with 150 or more wells declined by an average of 18.5 percent, while counties with no wells had about a 1 percent decline." (Figueroa)
The decrease in cows and milk production is from the unknown toxic chemicals contained in the fracking fluids. If the fracking is ingested by the cows and affects them negatively, then it makes sense that it also affects other animals such as pigs and chickens, which shows just how toxic and harmful fracking can be. It can’t be coincidence that the counties with the gas wells were the ones with the high percentage of decrease in cows and milk production. “Last year, 28 beef cattle in Pennsylvania were exposed to the fluid. Only three of the 11 calves these cattle gave birth to survived. In Louisiana a few years ago, 16 cows dropped dead after drinking fracking fluid.” (Figueroa).
If the gas wells aren’t built durably enough, they can leak and pollute groundwater. “Flowback” water can contaminate streams and water supplies. The Safe Water Drinking Act was passed in 1974 to ensure the quality of Americans' drinking water. However, toxic fracking fluids, including star cancer-causing chemicals, such as, benzene and toluene, are exempt from federal regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. (United States Environmental Protection Agency) And the federal government doesn’t necessitate that companies reveal what’s in the fracking fluid – allowing millions of gallons of toxic fluid to flow into the ground at each drilling site without anyone but the drilling companies knowing what it contains.
Mike Ludwig was a 2012 Republican Candidate for the House of Representatives who once served the United State Army Reserve, having been deployed to include Operations Noble Eagle and Iraqi Freedom. He has since reenlisted into the PA Army National Guard and currently serves as an E7 or Sergeant First Class in the Military Police Corps. His achievements and loyalty to his country show his responsibility and involvement with his environment. Although he lost that campaign to Mary Jo Daley, he ardently researches the effects of hydraulic fracturing and has earned the title of the Truthout Reporter. Here are some hard numbers he gathered from an Environment America report to solidify the threat of fracking:
Paul Driessen received his bachelor's degree in geology and field ecology from Lawrence University, JD from the University of Denver College of Law, and accreditation in public relations from the Public Relations Society of America. According to Eco-Imperialism, he is currently a senior policy adviser for the Congress of Racial Equality and a senior fellow with the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation.
"Hydraulic fracturing has created 1.7 million new direct and indirect jobs in the United States, with the total likely to rise to 3 million over the next seven years, HIS Global Insight reports. It has added $62 billion to federal and state treasuries, with that total expected to rise to $111 billion by 2020. By 2035, U.S. oil and natural gas operations could provide more than $5 trillion in cumulative capital expenditures to the economy, while generating more than $2.5 trillion in cumulative additional government revenues." (Driessen)
It is as Driessen researched; Hydrofracking, I admit, sounds tempting. It creates a prospering economy for the U.S. and because there’s such an abundance of shale rock in our nation, we wouldn’t have to rely on other countries for resources. However, what good is a large sum of money if we have to sacrifice and destroy the environment and the health of the people living in it?
The USA government is gaining profit and independence, but it’s losing something much more important: our trust. “Cameron Cerny, the 15-year-old boy living amid it all. He doesn't seem to trust the regulators or the industry anymore. ‘It's all a lie. It's just, they're just worried about money, they are not worried about the environment or health, they're just worried about money,’ Cerny said in a video interview. ‘There's just always smoke out here, all this stuff, and I know it's poisoning the air. And they act like nothing is going on.’” (Ludwig) Cerny lives on a land that is undergoing fracking by a company. Even this young boy notices the ignorant behavior of the company and tells it how he sees it. He’s not some lobbyist or a political figure seeking to gain favor by disapproving of fracking, he’s just a regular teenage boy telling the truth about Fracking.
Alison Rose Levy is a journalist who has been in the major media for over twenty years. The Huffington Post informs us that for two decades, she has covered the wide range of areas that affect health, such as food, the environment, health care, health science and research, activism, media and marketing of health, treatments, public policy, regulation, and legislation, and the health, drug, food, agricultural, and energy industries.
"The higher levels of radioactive materials, released through drilling from Marcellus shale, exceed EPA’s maximum contaminant safety levels by 1,000-fold. Due to infrequent testing, it’s unlikely that radioactivity in public water would be detected prior to mass consumption, with exposure resulting in 'anemia, cataracts, cancer, and increased mortality,' according to a CDC toxicological profiles report." (Levy)
If this process continues and we drill holes all over the nation, we might as well just call hydraulic fracturing a “nuclear bomb”. I might be exacerbating the amount of radioactivity, but it’s not a topic we should take lightly. The toxicity of the chemicals used during hydrofracking has the potential to create or accelerate illness and death. Are human lives worth sacrificing for some paper humans placed a value on? I believe hydraulic fracturing is a wrong step towards economic wealth and the perfect road to destruction of this already polluted world.
Alyssa Figueroa is an associate editor at AlterNet and Salon, which is an award-winning news magazine and online community that creates original journalism and amplifies the best of hundreds of other independent media sources. AlterNet’s aim is to inspire action and advocacy on the environment, human rights and civil liberties, social justice, media, health care issues, and more. In an article, Figueroa explained some depressing factors of fracking.
"The university researchers set out to uncover how fracking in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region is affecting dairy farming, the state’s top agricultural sector. The researchers examined dairy cow numbers, milk production and fracking activity among various counties in Pennsylvania between 2007 and 2010. They found that counties with 150 or more Marcellus Shale wells saw a 19 percent decrease in dairy cows, while counties with no wells saw only a 1.2 percent decrease. In a similar fashion, milk production in these counties with 150 or more wells declined by an average of 18.5 percent, while counties with no wells had about a 1 percent decline." (Figueroa)
The decrease in cows and milk production is from the unknown toxic chemicals contained in the fracking fluids. If the fracking is ingested by the cows and affects them negatively, then it makes sense that it also affects other animals such as pigs and chickens, which shows just how toxic and harmful fracking can be. It can’t be coincidence that the counties with the gas wells were the ones with the high percentage of decrease in cows and milk production. “Last year, 28 beef cattle in Pennsylvania were exposed to the fluid. Only three of the 11 calves these cattle gave birth to survived. In Louisiana a few years ago, 16 cows dropped dead after drinking fracking fluid.” (Figueroa).
If the gas wells aren’t built durably enough, they can leak and pollute groundwater. “Flowback” water can contaminate streams and water supplies. The Safe Water Drinking Act was passed in 1974 to ensure the quality of Americans' drinking water. However, toxic fracking fluids, including star cancer-causing chemicals, such as, benzene and toluene, are exempt from federal regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. (United States Environmental Protection Agency) And the federal government doesn’t necessitate that companies reveal what’s in the fracking fluid – allowing millions of gallons of toxic fluid to flow into the ground at each drilling site without anyone but the drilling companies knowing what it contains.
Mike Ludwig was a 2012 Republican Candidate for the House of Representatives who once served the United State Army Reserve, having been deployed to include Operations Noble Eagle and Iraqi Freedom. He has since reenlisted into the PA Army National Guard and currently serves as an E7 or Sergeant First Class in the Military Police Corps. His achievements and loyalty to his country show his responsibility and involvement with his environment. Although he lost that campaign to Mary Jo Daley, he ardently researches the effects of hydraulic fracturing and has earned the title of the Truthout Reporter. Here are some hard numbers he gathered from an Environment America report to solidify the threat of fracking:
- The fracking operations produced 450,000 tons of air pollution in one year.
- Fracking has been linked to more than 1,000 instances of groundwater contamination, including 743 instances in New Mexico, where groundwater supplies drinking water for 90 percent of the state's residents.
- The fracking industry has degraded 360,000 acres of land since 2005 by building roads, pipelines and drilling pads.
- Fracking operations emitted 100 million metric tons of global warming pollution since 2005. (Rumpler)
Paul Driessen received his bachelor's degree in geology and field ecology from Lawrence University, JD from the University of Denver College of Law, and accreditation in public relations from the Public Relations Society of America. According to Eco-Imperialism, he is currently a senior policy adviser for the Congress of Racial Equality and a senior fellow with the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation.
"Hydraulic fracturing has created 1.7 million new direct and indirect jobs in the United States, with the total likely to rise to 3 million over the next seven years, HIS Global Insight reports. It has added $62 billion to federal and state treasuries, with that total expected to rise to $111 billion by 2020. By 2035, U.S. oil and natural gas operations could provide more than $5 trillion in cumulative capital expenditures to the economy, while generating more than $2.5 trillion in cumulative additional government revenues." (Driessen)
It is as Driessen researched; Hydrofracking, I admit, sounds tempting. It creates a prospering economy for the U.S. and because there’s such an abundance of shale rock in our nation, we wouldn’t have to rely on other countries for resources. However, what good is a large sum of money if we have to sacrifice and destroy the environment and the health of the people living in it?
The USA government is gaining profit and independence, but it’s losing something much more important: our trust. “Cameron Cerny, the 15-year-old boy living amid it all. He doesn't seem to trust the regulators or the industry anymore. ‘It's all a lie. It's just, they're just worried about money, they are not worried about the environment or health, they're just worried about money,’ Cerny said in a video interview. ‘There's just always smoke out here, all this stuff, and I know it's poisoning the air. And they act like nothing is going on.’” (Ludwig) Cerny lives on a land that is undergoing fracking by a company. Even this young boy notices the ignorant behavior of the company and tells it how he sees it. He’s not some lobbyist or a political figure seeking to gain favor by disapproving of fracking, he’s just a regular teenage boy telling the truth about Fracking.
Alison Rose Levy is a journalist who has been in the major media for over twenty years. The Huffington Post informs us that for two decades, she has covered the wide range of areas that affect health, such as food, the environment, health care, health science and research, activism, media and marketing of health, treatments, public policy, regulation, and legislation, and the health, drug, food, agricultural, and energy industries.
"The higher levels of radioactive materials, released through drilling from Marcellus shale, exceed EPA’s maximum contaminant safety levels by 1,000-fold. Due to infrequent testing, it’s unlikely that radioactivity in public water would be detected prior to mass consumption, with exposure resulting in 'anemia, cataracts, cancer, and increased mortality,' according to a CDC toxicological profiles report." (Levy)
If this process continues and we drill holes all over the nation, we might as well just call hydraulic fracturing a “nuclear bomb”. I might be exacerbating the amount of radioactivity, but it’s not a topic we should take lightly. The toxicity of the chemicals used during hydrofracking has the potential to create or accelerate illness and death. Are human lives worth sacrificing for some paper humans placed a value on? I believe hydraulic fracturing is a wrong step towards economic wealth and the perfect road to destruction of this already polluted world.
WORKS CITED
“Water: Safe Drinking Water Act.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 01 Nov. 2013.
“What is Hydraulic Fracturing?” Pro Publica. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Driessen, Paul. “Fracking Brings Employment and Economic Revival.” Human Events. 12 August 2013. Web. 01 Nov. 2013.
Figueroa, Alyssa. “Five Strange, Frightening Effects of Fracking.” Salon. 22 October 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Hassett, Kevin A. “Benefits of Hydraulic Fracturing.” American Enterprise Institute. 04 April 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Levy, Alyson Rose. “4 Horrifying Dangers of Fracking.” Alternet. 30 November 2012. Web. 01 Nov. 2013.
Ludwig, Mike. “Eco-Investigators Say Fracking Air Pollution Is Poisoning Families in Texas.” Truth Out. 23 September 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Ludwig, Mike. “The Hard Numbers on Fracking: Radiation, Toxic Wastewater and Air Pollution.” Truth Out. 04 October 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Rumpler, John. “Fracking by the Numbers: New Report First to Quantify Damage Done by Gas Drilling.” Environment America. 03 October 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
“What is Hydraulic Fracturing?” Pro Publica. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Driessen, Paul. “Fracking Brings Employment and Economic Revival.” Human Events. 12 August 2013. Web. 01 Nov. 2013.
Figueroa, Alyssa. “Five Strange, Frightening Effects of Fracking.” Salon. 22 October 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Hassett, Kevin A. “Benefits of Hydraulic Fracturing.” American Enterprise Institute. 04 April 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Levy, Alyson Rose. “4 Horrifying Dangers of Fracking.” Alternet. 30 November 2012. Web. 01 Nov. 2013.
Ludwig, Mike. “Eco-Investigators Say Fracking Air Pollution Is Poisoning Families in Texas.” Truth Out. 23 September 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Ludwig, Mike. “The Hard Numbers on Fracking: Radiation, Toxic Wastewater and Air Pollution.” Truth Out. 04 October 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Rumpler, John. “Fracking by the Numbers: New Report First to Quantify Damage Done by Gas Drilling.” Environment America. 03 October 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.