So what is it?

 

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside.

 

To the site

 

Each gas well requires hundreds of tanker trucks to carry water and supplies to and from the site.

 

Fracturing Site

 

The water brought in is mixed with sand and chemicals to create fracking fluid. Approximately 40,000 gallons of chemicals are used per fracturing.

 

Fracking Fluid

 

Up to 600 chemicals are used in fracking fluid, including known carcinogens and toxins such as…

 

lead

uranium

mercury

ethylene glycol

radium

methanol

hydrochloric acid

formaldehyde

 

Shale Fracturing

 

The mixture reaches the end of the well where the high pressure causes the nearby shale rock to crack, creating fissures where natural gas flows into the well.

 

Contamination

 

During this process, methane gas and toxic chemicals leach out from the system and contaminate nearby groundwater.

 

Methane concentrations are 17x higher in drinking-water wells near fracturing sites than in normal wells.