Fracking likely linked to groundwater pollution in U.S. [View all]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may have linked fracking — a controversial method of improving the productivity of oil and gas wells — to groundwater pollution for the first time.
The EPA announced Thursday that it found compounds likely associated with fracking chemicals in the groundwater beneath a Wyoming community where residents say their well water reeks of chemicals.
The finding could have a chilling effect in both Canada and the U.S. where various levels of government are trying to determine how to regulate the controversial process. Hydraulic fracturing involves pumping pressurized water, sand and chemicals underground to open fissures and release natural gas and oil trapped in the rock formations.
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As part of the investigation, the EPA drilled two deep monitoring wells in the local aquifer and found synthetic chemicals, like glycols and alcohols consistent with gas production and hydraulic fracturing fluids. It also found benzene concentrations well above Safe Drinking Water Act standards and high methane levels in the deep wells.
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/12/08/bc-fracking-groundwater-epa.html
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