Environmental impact of fracking
[14] Governments worldwide are developing regulatory frameworks to assess and manage environmental and associated health risks, working under pressure from industry on the one hand, and from anti-fracking groups on the other.
[17][18] The United Kingdom's regulatory framework is based on the conclusion that the risks associated with fracking are manageable if carried out under effective regulation and if operational best practices are implemented.
Potential risks are "methane emissions from the wells, diesel fumes and other hazardous pollutants, ozone precursors or odours from hydraulic fracturing equipment, such as compressors, pumps, and valves".
[22] The relationship between hydraulic fracturing and air quality can influence acute and chronic respiratory illnesses, including exacerbation of asthma (induced by airborne particulates, ozone and exhaust from equipment used for drilling and transport) and COPD.
OSHA has also raised concerns about the long-term respiratory effects of occupational exposure to airborne silica at hydraulic fracturing sites.
[23] "In the UK, all oil and gas operators must minimise the release of gases as a condition of their licence from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
[30] A debate has arisen particularly around a study by professor Robert W. Howarth finding shale gas significantly worse for global warming than oil or coal.
[48] The large volumes of water required for most common hydraulic fracturing methods have raised concerns for arid regions, such as the Karoo in South Africa,[49] and in drought-prone Texas, in North America.
[55] An expansive study conducted by the Yale School of Public Health in 2016 found numerous chemicals involved in or released by hydraulic fracturing are carcinogenic.
Part of the wastewater from hydraulic fracturing operations is processed there by public sewage treatment plants, which are not equipped to remove radioactive material and are not required to test for it.
Research that modeled the solute transport of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) and naphthalene for a range of spill sizes on contrasting soils overlying groundwater at different depths found that benzene and toluene were expected to reach human health relevant concentration in groundwater because of their high concentrations in produced water, relatively low solid/liquid partition coefficient and low EPA drinking water limits for these contaminants.
[68] In the evolving European Union legislation, it is required that "Member States should ensure that the installation is constructed in a way that prevents possible surface leaks and spills to soil, water or air.
[76] A scientific study conducted by researchers of Duke University found high correlations of gas well drilling activities, including hydraulic fracturing, and methane pollution of the drinking water.
[76] According to the 2011 study of the MIT Energy Initiative, "there is evidence of natural gas (methane) migration into freshwater zones in some areas, most likely as a result of substandard well completion practices i.e. poor quality cementing job or bad casing, by a few operators.
[66][88][89] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and regulators in North Dakota consider radioactive material in flowback a potential hazard to workers at hydraulic fracturing drilling and waste disposal sites and those living or working nearby if the correct procedures are not followed.
[92] A study published in 2015 on the Fayetteville Shale found that a mature gas field impacted about 2% of the land area and substantially increased edge habitat creation.
[94] Research indicates that effects on ecosystem services costs (i.e. those processes that the natural world provides to humanity) has reached over $250 million per year in the U.S.[95] Hydraulic fracturing causes induced seismicity called microseismic events or microearthquakes.
[106] According to the USGS only a small fraction of roughly 30,000 waste fluid disposal wells for oil and gas operations in the United States have induced earthquakes that are large enough to be of concern to the public.
[14] The injection of waste water from oil and gas operations, including from hydraulic fracturing, into saltwater disposal wells may cause bigger low-magnitude tremors, being registered up to 3.3 (Mw).
[13] Noise pollution from hydraulic fracturing operations (e.g., traffic, flares/burn-offs) is often cited as a source of psychological distress, as well as poor academic performance in children.
[112] The UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG) is the industry representative body, and it has published a charter that shows how noise concerns will be mitigated, using sound insulation, and heavily silenced rigs where this is needed.
[114] Impacted communities are often already vulnerable, including poor, rural, or indigenous persons, who may continue to experience the deleterious effects of hydraulic fracturing for generations.
Facility siting in fracking projects disproportionately tilts towards lower income communities, a persisting issue partially due to these disadvantaged residents not having the resources to evade environmental hazards.
[115] Competition for resources between farmers and oil companies contributes to stress for agricultural workers and their families, as well as to a community-level “us versus them” mentality that creates community distress.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) has a special exemption preventing indigenous groups from protecting their water sources with quality standards.
[121] In an attempt to support findings from the existing literature, one study performed a series of interviews with residents of Denton, Texas to get a community's personalized testimony.
[122] The relevance and reliability of risk assessments in communities where hydraulic fracturing occurs has also been debated amongst environmental groups, health scientists, and industry leaders.
[15][124] The report was notable for stating that the risks associated with hydraulic fracturing are manageable if carried out under effective regulation and if operational best practices are implemented.
Some legislature, such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), is written in a way that it only protects indigenous 'cultural resources' on specifically allocated tribal lands.
For example, the Greater Chaco Canyon region, which spans across Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, is home to ancient Puebloan architecture, extremely significant grounds to descendant indigenous groups.
