Sierra Club has produced this list of accidents and disasters related to fracking. It also contains the Pennsylvania Natural Gas Industry Wall of Shame.
news
Injunction to stop fracking waste from getting into Monongahela River
calling natural gas a "bridge fuel" alarmingly deceptive
trump's fracking plan targets over 1 million acres in californa
A Guide to Every Permitted Natural Gas Well in West Virginia
gas prices rise in B.C. after pipeline explosion
pipeline debate stokes divide in historic black community
why no lawmakers have stopped this company's threat to humanity
Dozens of Washington, Allegheny landowners file suit against EQT
injection of wastewater tied to seismicity
gas migration thought cause of pipeline explosion in greene county
New report: individuals and environments impacted by America’s fracking boom
The Secret of the Great American Fracking Bubble
Ken ward: coal extracted a steep price; now gas is taking wv down the same path
In Case You Missed It: EPA Proposes to Revoke Oil & Gas Pollution Protections
BREAKING: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling Deals Dominion Huge Blow In Its Efforts to Build Risky, Unnecessary, Destructive Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Debunked: The G20 Clean Gas Myth
BILL HUSTON PODCAST: WIDESPREAD WATER CONTAMINATION IN DIMOCK, PA REACHES 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Pennsylvania Fracking Water Contamination Much Higher Than Reported
Radar images show large swath of Texas oil patch is heaving and sinking at alarming rates
no widespread, systemic impacts to water from fracking? epa takes a second look
Well pad explosion, fire forces evacuations in Powhatan Point area
for breating-related HEALTH EFFECTS of fracking, BLAME THE TRUCKs
Exxon's XTO caps leaking Ohio gas well, 20 days after blowout
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learn
fracking waste water is so hard to clean
report: the social costs of fracking
click here for the new york scientific compendium of scientific, medical, and media findings on the risks and harms of fracking
Dr. Christopher Kassotis on Endocrine Disrupting Activities in WV Streams
Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Oil and Natural Gas Operations: Potential Environmental Contamination and Recommendations to Assess Complex Environmental Mixtures
Want to learn more about fracking? See the Sierra Club Beyond Natural Gas Campaign Fracking Fact Sheet here.
search the frack health database
recordings from the 2018 conference on shale gas and public health
You can purchase the Surface Owners' Guide to Oil and Gas here and read more about landowners' rights in relation to gas wells and pipelines.
How much caution is too much? This video from 2011 shows the city council of Pittsburgh discussing their position on hydraulic fracturing in the city. Councilman Doug Shields is fearless in his condemnation of the companies that have fouled the water in many areas. Another council member discusses the health emergency that fracking constitutes. Despite their caution, very high levels of radiation from frack water were found in a Pennsylvania stream in 2013, and have since.
News
West Virginia Gas Companies Wined and Dined Lawmakers Before Scoring Favorable Fracking Legislation
Groups sue EPA over drilling and fracking waste
Shale gas is one of the least sustainable ways to produce electricity, research finds
Bill Huston: Depleted uranium perf guns used to frack
bill huston: bomb trucks, also called "virtual pipelines" (if they can't lay a pipe, they will use trucks - this is unregulated and highly dangerous!)
the urgent case for a ban on fracking
Fracking Study Finds Low Birth Weights Near Natural Gas Drilling Sites
gazette letter: gas pipelines, fracking threaten west virginians
19 Proposed Fracking Pipelines Would Push Us Past Point of No Return, Report Finds
Over 60 VA Candidates Reject Campaign Contributions from Toxic Corporation Dominion Energy
ohio court overturns law preventing cities from voting on anti-fracking measures
EPA's Study of Hydraulic Fracturing and Its Potential Impact on Drinking Water Resources
Report: watershed scale impacts from surface water disposal of oil and gas wastewater in pennsylvania
New Webinar on Fracking and Food: What's in my Food? from Halt the Harm network
Gas Glut and Slowdown in Gas Industry Creates Open Market - Gas Industry Depressed - a Bloomberg article
Citizens' Guide to Fracking and water-related permits available now!
No timeline for capping of blown well
Series of Earthquakes Linked to Fracking in Utica Region
The Marcellus Shale Documentary Project documents the social, environmental and economic effects of unconventional natural gas (methane) extraction (commonly known as "fracking") within the borders of Pennsylvania.
Compilation of Physicochemical and Toxicological Information About Hydraulic Fracturing-Related Chemicals (Draft Database)
Natural Gas Operations from a Public Health Perspective
Gas Leak Causes Evacuation in Perry County, OH
Powerpoint - Fracked Natural Gas: Bridge Fuel, or Bridge to Nowhere?
Infographic: The True Cost of Fracking
Former Gov. Ed Rendell: ‘I made a mistake’ on shale gas
Obama Administration Permitted 1,200 Offshore Fracks in Gulf of Mexico
How IOGCC Spawned the Lawsuit That Just Overturned BLM Fracking Regulations on Public Lands
Largest Sources of Methane Pollution Identified
Rural Pennsylvanians Say Fracking ‘Just Ruined Everything’
Nuclear waste dumped illegally in KY
NPR: Radioactive Waste from West Virginia Sent to Irvine, KY
Hot Mess: How Radioactive Fracking Waste Wound Up Near Homes And Schools
Natural Gas Already Losing to Renewables
Endocrine Disruption and Unconventional Oil and Gas Production: A Teleconference Series
Lawsuit Filed Against EPA for Oil and Gas Waste Exemptions not Updated to reflect changes in gas drilling due to high-volume horizontal fracking
Attendees feel unheard and frustrated after DEP hearing on injection well
High Levels of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Found Near Fracking Wastewater Site
Information related to Theo Colburn's Book Our Stolen Future here
New research paper studies the adequacy of setbacks for fracking operations
Fracking Brings Ammonium and Iodide to Local Waterways
Read the full study and others on fracking here
Opinion: Natural Gas not the Boom We Want
EPA Fracking Study Faulted by Science Panel Citing Failed Wells
Not Your Granddaddy's Gas Well
It's called unconventional for a reason. Although fracking has been used in some vertical wells, the old wells were shallow (less than 1/4 mile in depth) and did not take up nearly as much space, use nearly as many chemicals, or consume nearly as much water. Drillers bore at least a mile under the surface vertically, then go off horizontally, sending water, chemicals, and sand out of the drill at extremely high pressure, creating fissures in the rock that can allow fluid to migrate in all directions and find unknown fault lines. This carries with it seismic hazards for pipelines and other underground infrastructure. A typical horizontal well pad can take up to 25 acres of surface with access roads, storage ponds, well heads, and equipment storage. This is not the 1/2 - 2 acres taken up by the old style vertical wells. This is a major disturbance, with noise, air pollution, light pollution, traffic, and sometimes toxic spills, leaks, and runoff heading for surface or groundwater resources, and sometimes private water wells. The waste water must then be disposed of, usually underground, in abandoned wells or other places, where it can find its way into fissures and unknown fault lines, causing groundwater contamination and earthquakes. The Marcellus stratum is highly radioactive, containing isotopes such as radium-226 and -228, uranium-235 and -238, thorium-232, and lead-214, and this toxic water has been found in Pennsylvania water. Make no mistake, these alpha and beta particles are very real health hazards, we are finding them more and more in our water supply, and they cannot be removed by conventional means.
more articles on radiation in the marcellus
Radium Content of Oil and Gas Field Produced Waters
Has Radioactivity Risk from Oil and Gas Operations Been Underrated?
As Researchers Tie Fracking and Radon, Pennsylvania Moves to Keep Drilling Radioactive Data Under Wraps
Radioactive Wastewater
Has Radioactivity Risk from Oil and Gas Operations Been Underrated?
As Researchers Tie Fracking and Radon, Pennsylvania Moves to Keep Drilling Radioactive Data Under Wraps
Radioactive Wastewater
The ProblemThe infrastructure for natural gas includes wells and well pads, pipelines, injection wells for waste, industrial landfills or special "cells" within municipal landfills, and compressor stations. All along this system are opportunities for toxins to be released into the environment. Loose regulations, lack of oversight, weak penalties, and lack of enforcement together put our communities at risk for very large, and often unsolvable, problems. As individuals who care about our state, it is often up to us to watch, monitor, report incidents, and follow up with the appropriate authorities. For a community that has been suffering from extractive industry oppression disguised as opportunity, it is difficult to break away from the mentality that has kept our people enslaved for over 150 years. But if we are to preserve the state's environment, culture, heritage, and public health, and secure our future, this is exactly what we must do.
This interview with Tony Ingraffea gives a great explanation of fracking's inherent problems.
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More Information on the Hazards of Drilling
The links below are by no means exhaustive, but should start you on your search for information.
Property Values
Fracking the American Dream: Reduced Property Values
How Fracking Decreases Property Value How Fear of Fracking Can Decrease Property Values Frack Tracker helps you locate frack wells in your area.
Community taxation issues |
Water IssuesToxic water enters streams and rivers through spills, leaks, and leachate from landfills, sometimes finding its way into municipal water supplies, where it cannot be removed.
West Virginia's government recently accepted bids from drilling companies to develop gas from shale underneath the Ohio River. Read what OVEC has to say about that here. Export issues |
Chemicals and RadiationToxic Wastewater Dumped in Streets and Rivers at Night: the Allen Shipman Case Testing has revealed that residual waste is still present in the affected streams.
We know it doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes a truck driver with a load of waste water (referred to as "brine") will decide he's too tired to drive the long way to the injection well site or the waste water recycling plant and just let it go into a stream on a quiet road. Your mother told you not to drink the water and she was right! |