More Research Finds That Fracking Contaminates Groundwater

A recent study has found that in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania the closer you live to where there is fracking the more likely your water well will be contaminated with methane.

            The study was performed by Robert Jackson, a chemical engineer from Duke University. He found that home wells that were less than a mile from a fracking operation had methane concentrations that were six times higher than concentrations of wells that were farther away. He found methane in 115 of 141 residential water wells he examined.

            It is believed that the wells are contaminated when the protective metal casings and concrete around a frack well leak. Isotopes and traces of ethane characteristic of the natural gas found in the Marcellus Shale distinguish the gas found in the well water from methane that might have been produced by microorganisms in the groundwater.

            There is also the possibility that the fracking actually opens up pathways for the natural gas to seep up and contaminate the groundwater. A fracking expert from Cornell University, Anthony Ingraffea, is in the process of examining inspection reports from most of the more than 41,000 gas wells that have been drilled in Pennsylvania since the beginning of 2000. So far it looks like his research reveals that a higher percentage of fracking wells are leaking than conventional oil and gas wells drilled into other formations besides the Marcellus Shale.

            With these new findings, I wonder if there will be any Pennsylvania lawmakers who might say, “Hey, we better investigate this a little more before we let even more fracking in our commonwealth.”