Fracking Fluids May Migrate to Aquifers, Researcher Says

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) Chemically treated drilling fluid can migrate through thousands of feet of rock and endanger water supplies, said a hydrologist whose research calls into question the safety of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas.

The fluids can migrate faster that previously thought, Tom Myers, a Reno, Nevada, researcher, said yesterday. His study, published in the online journal Ground Water on April 17, says fluids can reach shallow drinking-water aquifers in as little as three years.

“If contaminants reach natural fractures under pressure, the upward flow has the potential to be enhanced greatly,” Myers, an independent consultant who has worked for conservation groups and governments, said. “It can flow upward if there’s a pathway and unless it’s completely impermeable, there’s always a pathway. It’s just a question of how long it takes.”

The safety of water supplies is a key concern of critics of fracking, a drilling technique in which water, chemicals and sand are pumped deep underground to free trapped natural gas. Fracking, which has boosted supplies and sent prices to their lowest in a decade, is being investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for possible impacts on water. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-03/fracking-fluids-may-migrate-to-aquifers-researcher-says.html

[guitar man]

1. Yep

I can attest to that personally. They've been fracking for years in Oklahoma . The water well on my parents old farm and all the wells on the neighbors places, all ruined

[Odin2005]

2. Fuck.

[Marrah_G]

3. grrrrrrrrrrrr

[SalviaBlue]

4. Ya think?

This is a no brainer.

These corporate sociopaths will not stop at nothing for their profits.

[democrat_patriot]

5. May? May? Who in the hell thinks they wouldn't? Even oil companies

know it will. Which is why the rich are stocking up fresh water.

[laundry_queen]

6. They have a marvelous grasp of the obvious. nt

[hootinholler]

7. Thanks you for posting this!

3 years, 5 years, 10 years, it matters not after the time is expired. The thing is that contaminates will find a way to migrate and after they do, the gas companies have left their mess for the public to deal with.

This doesn't even consider the disposal of the fracking fluids returned to the surface during fracking and are subsequently disposed of by injecting them into wells.