Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Excellent Review of the Challenges of Treating and Managing Contaminated Waste Water From Fracking




Estimating Wastewater Impacts from Fracking
Charles W. Schmidt Environ Health Perspect 121:a117-a117 (2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.121-a117 [online 01 April 2013] http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/121-a117/ 

[Excerpted] Wastewater produced by hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale is already overwhelming disposal options and will continue to do so as gas development increases, according to newly published research.1 

The investigation did not evaluate environmental consequences of the wastewater. But lead author Brian Lutz, an assistant professor in the Kent State University Department of Biology, says fracking wastewater could have a range of environmental and health impacts if not managed correctly. The analysis was limited to Pennsylvania, which along with West Virginia dominates Marcellus shale gas production today.2

...The bottom line, he emphasizes, is that the amount of wastewater being generated is going up exponentially at the same time that opportunities for managing it are becoming more limited. “And this creates more opportunities for human exposure,” he says..... [end]


Majia here: Fracking waste water is contaminated with heavy metals, radionuclides, and salts. 

30% to 70% of all fracking fluid is not retrieved after injection. 

Fracking fluids are already showing up in our food supply! See this excellent discussion here:

‘Fracking Our Food Supply’ by E. Royte,  November 28, 2012, The Nation http://www.thenation.com/article/171504/fracking-our-food-supply#


 




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