![]() ![]() ![]() In a recent study, we worked with colleagues to provide the first systematic analysis of chemicals found in fracking fluids that would be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act if they were injected underground for other purposes. We study the oil and gas industry in California and Texas and are members of the Wylie Environmental Data Justice Lab, which studies fracking chemicals in aggregate. As a result, fracking is regulated at the state level, and requirements vary from state to state. However, Congress has exempted fracking from most federal regulation under the law. The Safe Drinking Water Act, enacted in 1974, regulates underground injection of chemicals that can threaten drinking water supplies. Environmental Protection Agency classifies a number of these chemicals as toxic or potentially toxic. oil and gas production starting in the early 2000s but also triggered intense debate over its health and environmental impacts.įracking fluids are up to 97% water, but they also contain a host of chemicals that perform functions such as dissolving minerals and killing bacteria. Advances in fracking launched a huge expansion of U.S. The fluids fracture coal beds and shale rock, allowing the gas and oil trapped within the rock to rise to the surface. Since 2014, most new oil and gas wells have been fracked.įracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, is a process in which workers inject fluids underground under high pressure. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menuįrom rural Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, more than 17 million Americans live within a mile of at least one oil or gas well. ![]()
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