Another non-industry sponsored study has found that hydro-fracking contaminates the water supply.
Methane leaks are contaminating drinking water near shale gas drilling sites in the northeastern United States, scientists said Tuesday, placing a further question mark over this fast-growing energy source.
Scientists tested water samples taken from 68 private wells in five counties in Pennsylvania and New York to explore accusations that “hydro-fracking” — a contested technique to extract shale gas — has contaminated groundwater.
Methane was found in 85 percent of the samples, and at sites within a kilometer (0.6 mile) of active hydraulic-fracturing operations, levels were 17 times higher than in wells far from such operations, said the study by researchers at Duke University in North Carolina.
“In these rural areas, almost everybody has a well,” lead author Stephen Osborn told AFP. “They are using it for drinking, for their livestock, for agriculture.”
No one knows what happens when you drink a bunch of methane because no one bothered to study it before they started fracking the hell out of the Marcellus Shale.
We live in Pennsylvania, and we have well-water. Fortunately, I hope, we live far enough east of the shale that our drinking water is probably safe. But it’s not about me. It’s about the wisdom of releasing climate-warming methane into the atmosphere and water supply. I am aware that almost all energy sources come with problems, and that “clean” energy sources are insufficient for our needs. But, at a minimum, more study needs to be done on hydro-fracking and its potential consequences on the environment.
