Short for Hydraulic Fracturing, fracking is the process of injecting millions of gallons of sand and chemicals (many of them toxic) into the earth and extremely high temperatures to break up rock formations, and release the natural gas inside.
The natural gas that’s released by fracking must be piped to compressor stations before they can be sent to power plants and other end consumers of energy. At these compressor stations, the volatile organic compounds and dangerous chemicals are burned off into the air. The remaining fracking fluid is stored on-site as wastewater; part of the wastewater evaporates into the air, and the rest stays underground. Toxic gases and chemicals can and have contaminated nearby water supplies.
Load Comments...
Discuss...
Enable JavaScript to submit a comment.