If you are not sure that fracking is all about, then you need to know that fracking is the process of injecting warm and hot liquids into the strata, at high pressure to create enormous pressure on the lower strata and cause a fissure. This is usually done to get to the oil and gas buried at great depths. And while fracking seems to be a success from a commercial point of view, a slew of recent reports has shown how fracking is poisoning the very air we breathe. To know more about the negative effects of fracking, do read on.
Fumes: as a result of hydraulic fracturing, noxious fumes are being pumped into the atmosphere; at the moment, there exists little by way of effective legislation to regulate these activities and the end result is that site zero or rather the point of origin is slowly infecting the environment around. It has accelerated in the last few years to the point that people who have no connection with fracturing activities that take place on site are getting sick as a result of the noxious fumes.
Global pollution: Fracturing is pumping large amounts of methane, carbon dioxide, and other noxious gases directly into the atmosphere; additionally it is also infecting the ground water in and around the main area which seeps into other water bodies thereby infecting more people in the process. The various noxious gases being pumped into the atmosphere is accelerating greenhouse effect; that may be a bit of an overreach but one thing is for certain- these activities are indeed contributing to the issue of global warming.
Respiratory issues: As drilling towards the reservoirs of oil and gas moves along at a fast pace, deep drilling has started to have an impact on the health of the locals. A recent study by CDC has shown that deep fracturing has started causing respiratory diseases among the locals, causing them to experience everything from a cough to shortness of breath, arrhythmia and even develop serious cardiovascular issues. A few strokes have even been directly linked to the close proximity with site zero.
On-site pollution: Those who live or work at the wells or at site zero run the highest risk; they are more at risk of developing the above-mentioned issues and apart from this, are also exposed to carcinogenic materials in a regular basis. As a result, they soon start developing a range of problems from the eye, ear and throat irritation to headaches, direct impact on the nervous system as a result of the highly concentrated toxins they breathe in.
These are some of the side effects that fracking causes and one that governments’ world over should sit-up and take note before it becomes too late. It is important for companies to adopt safer methods for drilling oil and gas out of the strata rather than resort to fracking which has a long term impact on both the surrounding environment as well as the lives of the locals.