September 9th, 2010

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it has asked nine natural gas service companies to voluntarily give information about the chemical composition of fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” process.

Fracking fluids are known to contain dozens of chemicals, designed to make the fluids work better when drillers crack into gas deposits deep in the earth. But the exact composition of companies’ formulas was exempted in 2005 from the Clean Water Act, which requires companies to make public chemicals being introduced into the environment.

[Read more →]

February 18th, 2010

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Congressmen Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) are asking for more information about the chemicals used to extract natural gas wells.

Urban gas well outside a mall in North Texas

Today, the two lawmakers sent letters to eight oil and natural gas companies requesting details of the ingredients used in hydraulic fracturing, a method of accessing natural gas deposits by blasting or fracturing the rock with a high pressure injection of water treated with chemicals.

[Read more →]

September 1st, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

One of my pet complaints is finally being addressed, at least partly. Living here in the Barnett Shale region of Texas, where drilling for natural gas is making Swiss cheese of the ground beneath, say, my house, I’ve been sensitive to these reports coming out that link fracturing chemicals to groundwater contamination.

To be fair, natural gas advocates point out that the crevices they’re tapping are typically not at the same level as groundwater. Still, that means they’re either drilling through potential groundwater territory, or above it (think: gravity).

[Read more →]