Bad Vibrations: 5 Health Effects of Fracking

In an effort to source gas and oil that lies beneath the earth’s surface, the practice known as fracking was born. The term fracking means to fracture a solid rock using heavy duty hydraulic equipment. The fracking industry has long claimed that fracking is a completly safe and beneficial practice; that it is an efficient way of sourcing American gas and oil. Those who live near fracking sites and have experienced property destruction and health deterioration firsthand disagree. Here are 5 things that we know about the health effects of fracking:

 

1. Cancer

The exposure the environmental toxins is a huge concern for the increase in cancer cases near fracking zones. Some environmental cancers take years to present themselves, but others have been presenting themselves in a rapidly increasing fashion.

 

2. Infertility

Fracking involves a huge amount of toxic chemicals, with a large percentage of these being are endocrine disruptors, which mimic hormones and can wreak havoc on an otherwise healthy body. The reproductive system is especially sensitive to chemical exposure and the alarmingly high rate of infertility in fracking areas has been documented.

3. Respiratory Issues

Venting emissions that occur during the fracking process are a major culprit to the air pollution that is thought to cause intense bouts of respiratory distress among residents living near a fracking site.

 

4. Low Birth Weight

Babies born to mothers living in a fracking zone are at a much increased risk of being born at a low birth weight than babies born outside of the area. The exposure to toxic chemicals does not allow the fetus to grow as it would without the harmful effects of the chemicals.

 

5. Headaches and Dizziness

Constant exposure to toxic chemicals from a fracking site can cause a great deal of distress. Many residents experience some level of headaches and/or dizziness, starting only once the fracking operation began.

 

Fracking is an issue that is currently being hotly debated, and deserves more research and insight. Good Vibrations industrial sensors have been used to prove the impact that fracking has on the surrounding environment. These sensors have shown that fracking has the equivalent effect as a micro earthquake. These findings, along with accounts of health problems plaguing areas near fracking sites must be taken seriously to protect the families that are being affected by the fracking industry.

Categories: babies born, birth weight, Effects, Fracking, fracking industry, fracking site, fracking sites, health, health effects, nbsp, Toxic Chemicals

UK Shale Gas Companies Intend to Flare Excess Gas

Environmental wellness experts have condemned a move to be made by the two companies exploring for shale gas in the UK. Cuadrilla – with gas operations in Lancashire and plans for new drilling in West Sussex – and iGas –, which has recently disclosed plans to drill in the Bowland Shale in Lancashire – have plans to flare excess gas at their sites.

Flaring excess will be the most visible sign of the fracking revolution that many in business and government would like to bring to the UK. Burning the methane results in greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, and so flaring excess gas is widely regarded as damaging to the wellbeing of the planet. Fracking wells are now widespread in the US, and flaring is so prevalent that you can see the flames from space.

Methane leaks from gas and oil fracking sites, and so fracking companies prefer to burn it as, during the exploration stage, it is cheaper than capturing it and using it for fuel, and it is less dangerous than allowing it to leak freely. It is understood that the UK companies have disclosed their plans to the Environment Agency, which does not ban flaring, but the British Countryside will suffer – with pipes tens of metres high burning naked flames at the top.

According to Joss Garman, policy director at Greenpeace, ‘As well as the industrialisation of rural England and the impacts on our climate, we now know fracking could mean hundreds of naked flames lighting up the English countryside. The UK is not the US and the consensus is that shale gas will not bring down bills. So for communities in the two-thirds of England earmarked for potential fracking, shale gas could mean a lot of pain for little gain.’

Cuadrilla has asserted that during the production phase, its shale gas wells would be capped, preventing methane from reaching the surface. The company said, ‘It is not possible to capture the gas during the exploration phase of the project. This can only be done during the production phase when pipeline and associated facilities are in place to use the gas.’ Captured gas would be fed into the gas network.

Categories: Fracking, methane, Shale Gas

What Everyone Ought to Know About the Practice of Fracking

What is seen as exciting news for economists is being seen as potentially devastating news for environmentalists. It has been found that Britain may have an enormous shale gas reserve, which could be a wonderful thing for the money that it could bring to the UK, but scientists warn that the effects to environmental wellness of actually accessing the gas could be catastrophic.

The problem with extracting shale gas is that the process of fracking, which harvests the gas, produces hydrochloric acid – and this eats through bones. Fracking involves drilling deep underground into the shale rock and injecting a high-pressure solution to create fractures in the rock and thus unleash all the natural gas. Unfortunately, this process involves toxic chemicals and carcinogens.

Whilst nobody objects to the rock itself being subjected to these substances, the worry is that these substances then start to pollute the nearby environment. Whilst some scientists argue that only a small amount of liquid is involved in the process and that 99% of this is water and sand, others argue that there is no way of knowing this for certain. In addition to this, a lot of the chemical is needed for each attempt at a ‘frack’ and you need to do a frack several times before the gas reserve is fully exploited. In other cases where fracking has been carried out, it has been discovered that the chemicals have gone into nearby groundwater – and methane, for example, was found in nearby drinking water when a frack was carried out.

A documentary called Gasland explored this phenomenon, where people were able to turn on their taps and set light to the water. In some other cases, gas bubbling up when underground fractures were carried out had caused huge explosions inside the basements of people’s houses. Thus, there are many social and environmental reasons to avoid carrying out the process of fracking, no matter how lucrative the harvest could be.

 

Categories: frack, Fracking, gas

Will We Soon Be Dependant on Other Countries for Energy?

Many of those who write about the future UK energy situation often make reference to “the lights going out”, but for Professor Jonathan Stern, Chairman and senior research fellow, natural gas research programme, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, the outcome is likely to have a far less dramatic effect on the UK’s environmental wellness.

According to Professor Stern, ‘It’s quite correct that a great deal of old coal and nuclear capacity will be retired over the next few years. For the rest of this decade, that will be replaced by as much renewables as can be built (mostly wind) and gas. Most of the gas-fired power generation which is needed has already been built; around 4GW is currently not in operation because it is unprofitable and most of the rest is running at far lower load factors than in previous years. If “the lights threaten to go out”, existing gas-fired generation will run at higher load factors and more can quickly be built.’

Professor Stern argues against environmental writers who assert that we will soon be ‘at the mercy of Russia and Kazakhstan’ as neither country even supplies the UK with any significant volumes of gas. However, the professor does allow that we may soon be more dependent on Norway, the Netherlands, Qatar and perhaps the US for our energy needs. But aren’t we, as a country, working on ways to reduce our dependence on other countries in this area?

‘Towards the end of the decade, the UK may produce some shale gas if drilling and fracking prove to be environmentally acceptable,’ the Professor explains. However, he adds that ‘the volumes will not be great and are unlikely to be “cheap” in comparison to imports. Post 2020, other carbon (with carbon capture and storage) and non-carbon generation options may become available, including increased production of shale gas. Outcomes will depend on costs, and costs will be affected by environmental acceptability and carbon pricing.’

Professor Stern concludes by saying, ‘The future of the UK power sector over the next decade has already been determined: wind and gas may not be the best possible option, but it is far from the worst, in relation to costs and carbon emissions. Apologies for the lack of apocalyptic or visionary sentiments about our future energy situation, but these are simply obscuring rather than illuminating the debate.’

Categories: dependence, Fracking, Shale Gas