Thursday, October 4, 2012

Tainted Water Wells Linked to Gas Fracking


Cabot’s Methodology Links Tainted Water Wells to Gas Fracking By Mark Drajem and Jim Efstathiou Jr. - Oct 2, 2012 Bloomberg http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-02/cabot-s-methodology-links-tainted-water-wells-to-gas-fracking.html

[Excerpted] Methane in two Pennsylvania water wells has a chemical fingerprint that links it to natural gas produced by hydraulic fracturing, evidence that such drilling can pollute drinking water.
Chart: EPA Data Shows Marcellus Gas in Water Wells


Cabot Oil & Gas, which used hydraulic fracturing to tap gas reserves in the Dimock, Pennsylvania area, maintains that its operations haven’t caused homeowners’ contamination, and its scientists say further analyses show this gas is not from the Marcellus either. 

The data, collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are significant because the composition of the gas --its isotopic signature -- falls into a range Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) had identified as that of the Marcellus Shale, which it tapped through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

“The EPA data falls squarely in the Marcellus space” established by Cabot’s scientists, said Rob Jackson, an environmental scientist at Duke University. That evidence backs up his findings linking gas drilling and water problems in the town of Dimock, applying the very methodology that Cabot established to try to debunk it, he said....
 
Majia here: Fracking is not a solution for our energy woes because it contaminates drinking water, it consumes vast amounts of fresh water, and it causes earthquakes. 
 
We must consider these risks seriously because lack of fresh water is even more of a national security risk than cheap energy.
 

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